


Three Kings

by anukis



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Blindshipping, M/M, Puzzleshipping, mafia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:14:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 68,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anukis/pseuds/anukis
Summary: The King is holding a meeting with his under-boss and consigliere when a teenager interrupts them. Not risking his operation, what does the King decide will be the fate for this young boy?
Relationships: Bakura Ryou/Yami Bakura, Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto, Marik Ishtar/Yami Marik, Mutou Yuugi/Yami Yuugi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	1. We've Got a Problem

**Author's Note:**

> So I started writing this in 2011 and finished it in 2019, originally posted it to ff net and then posted on wattpad as well but wanted share the story here because I know a lot of people love this site! So bear in mind, this is an 8 year long fic and you'll see some major writing changes from start to finish. There's not even that much graphic violence, but i put the warning on just in case. Hope you enjoy!

A man with brown hair sat at a large executive desk. His ice blue eyes were locked onto nothing in particular, his thoughts wandering as his hands folded in front of him. Glancing up at the clock, he let his eyes relax. Thinking about the daily hustle he had gone through was tough, just seeing one more figure might make his head burst, but he had to have everything in order for tonight. It was bad enough to be a CEO of Kaiba Corporation, now he had to meet with the King, his cousin, and his boss, along with the underboss. It had been an hour since he sent out his informant. He glanced back up at the clock… where was that mutt?

As if on cue, a knock came from the door.

"Come in." The brunette said.

The door clicked open gently and another man with blonde hair and brown eyes walked through.

"Hey Seto…" He greeted walking towards the desk.

The brunette, Seto, grumbled, "How many times have I told you not to be so informal with me around here?"

"What's the big deal, like anyone's gonna be 'round… it's only 6 anyway… thought you might wanna know somethin' but if you're just gonna be a big jerk ta' me I might as well leave." Said the blonde moving back towards the door.  **1** (A/N: See corresponding notes at the end)

The brunette stood up and his hand flashed out with lightening speed, catching the blonde's wrist before yanking him backwards. The two locked opposing gazes before Seto sighed in defeat.

"Just let me know what's going on, Jou."

"Fine." Smiled the blonde, Jou, in victory, "Well, 'ta King is gonna be in town tonight. He wants to meet wit' ya. 1 am sharp he says. Are ya gonna go, Seto?"

Seto Kaiba mumbled something, "Like I have a choice. We need to make this deal so he'll fix my problem and get out of this city as soon as possible."

Jounouchi (Jou) Katsuya smirked, "Yeah right, a handsome guy like 'ta King don't come around very often. Ya can't expect me 'ta believe a horn-ball like you ain't lookin' forward ta seeing him for an hour?"

Seto growled sending shivers down Jou's back as the brunette pulled the blonde close, "One, he's my cousin, perv. Second, you know there's only ever been you, mutt."

X

Yugi Motou sighed as he carried a box out into the shop. Working at the game shop was fun and all, but his grandpa could kind of be a Nazi. Just thinking that made Yugi sigh again… if his grandpa had heard that he would make a comment about having fought real Nazi's and how he was nothing like those "belligerent drones". But Yugi would still beg to differ…

"Yugi! Once you're done unloading that box, don't forget to count the register one more time and lock the front door. You wouldn't happen to need help would you? Of course not. Oh, there's also one more box back here you should get out tonight. Can you start dinner as soon as you're done? Or better yet at least start it by 7. Is the closed sign flipped yet?" His grandpa called from the back of the shop.  **2**

Yugi bit back a nasty retort and sighed, "Yes, ojii-san."  **3**

"Good, good…"

Yugi rubbed his temples. Why didn't he just put that man in a retirement home already? It wasn't that he hated his grandpa, truthfully he loved his grandpa very much… just… sometimes he couldn't stand doing all the work around the shop. He begged his grandpa to at least hire a new employee for help, especially with the elder Motou's health starting to decline, but he had refused. Said that Yugi was perfectly capable of handling the shop on his own and that his health was just as good as it was 40 years ago! Ha! What a joke. It wasn't as good as it was 40 days ago, let alone 40 years...

The boy started carefully unpacking the contents of the box he had brought out and putting things into the display case. Trying to think about something other than the massive amount of homework he had to do tonight, Yugi looked out the glass windows to the street and started to daydream. The girl he liked at school, Anzu, actually seemed interested in the game shop and he had invited her to stop by sometime. Of course, just as  _ friends _ . He hated just being friends but he was lucky to have one he supposed. Getting beat up at school sucked. Not being able to defend him self sucked.

Yugi had to physically stop himself from just dropping his head through the glass display glass in frustration. He was 17, damn it. He wanted a girl friend or at least… at least the potential to get a girl friend, but he felt like at this rate, things weren't ever going to go well for him.

' _ At least this is my senior year _ .' Yugi thought, ' _ I can be whoever I want to be in college, no body has to know I was ruthlessly beaten up and a loser at my old school _ .'

Or so he had hoped.

With another inward groan, he went back to stocking the display case when his cell phone went off on the counter next to him.

X

Atemu Kaji  **4** sat in the back of a black Mercedes-Benz S600 Sedan with his shades still on despite the creeping darkness coming around outside. He rested his head against the leather interior, resting his crimson eyes, which were the main reason he was so successful at striking fear into his enemies hearts. His spiked blonde, and black and red hair went off in every direction, looking as wild as usual. He wasn't necessarily looking forward to his meeting with the young CEO of Kaiba Corporation, but he knew he had to. Meeting with Seto, along with the underboss, had to happen in order to keep the whole operation afloat. His work wasn't exactly easy to do.

Most people knew him as a feared mafia boss, the King. He knew at any minute a rival gang could be out there looking for him, wanting him dead. Atemu had worked in bid rigging, vote buying, and handled several loan sharks, as a result, he'd grown incredibly powerful over the years. Money was never an issue, but he had the constant nagging about the loyalty being overthrown by greed in his men.

' _ So what? _ ' He thought flippantly and let his mind drop the thought immediately. ' _ Seto is at least loyal. Even if it is only out of our blood relation _ .'

Looking back out the window, Atemu grumbled. It had been quite a while since he had gone to Domino City. Hopefully the sleepy town would live up to its reputation and keep any incidences out of his hair for the evening. Just a normal meeting with his consigliere and underboss, and he'd be done in this town for a while.

One could only hope at least.

X

Yugi reached for his buzzing phone, looking at the number on the front he recognized it immediately and practically ripped the phone open.

"H-Hello?" He stuttered.

"Hey Yugi!" Answered a feminine voice from the other end.

"Oh hey, Anzu!" Yugi said, as if he didn't know it was her calling, "What's up?"

"Well I was just wondering… I know you aren't big on parties or anything but there's supposed to be a really good one going on down on Anchor Street tonight."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I just thought maybe you'd wanna come along, ya know? As friends… I mean. It's fine if you don't want to, Ryou was  _ totally _ against the idea of course but I thought it wouldn't hurt to call you too."

Yugi bit his lip; he really wasn't fond of parties. In his opinion there was too much drinking, too much noise, and too much idiocy.

"Yeah, for sure! Sounds great, Anzu! I'll try and be there." He hoped his enthusiasm didn't sound too fake.

"Awesome! See you there!" The line clicked dead and Yugi sighed setting down his phone.

On one hand, he was totally stoked to get an invite from Anzu, on the other hand… he really didn't want to go to a party with a chance of running into any bullies from school. But, for a chance with Anzu, who knew what Yugi was willing to do. He decided he would go, but couldn't tell his grandpa. The old man would freak if he knew Yugi was going to leave the house that late. And without a car, he'd obviously have to walk all the way there.

"Darn it. Why didn't I ask Anzu for a ride?" Yugi dragged.

"A ride for what?" Came a voice from behind him.

"Ah! Oh! Grandpa! Ha… um… I should have asked her—er… for a ride to school on Monday…?" He said skittishly.

"Oh I see! That's nice. In my day, we didn't have any of those fancy cars that always started the first time at our beck and call and had to walk up hill both ways from and to school, you know. You kids should be darn lucky it's not like it used to be." His grandpa started to ramble on but Yugi tuned him out.

At least he could go to the party without fear of his grandpa waking up during the night to catch him sneaking out.

X

12:30 rolled around and Seto carried a plain black brief case out to his BMW 760Li Sedan. Honestly, he wouldn't admit it to a soul, but the thing that sold this car was the blue color it came in. It was a little darker than he usually liked, but something about the shade caught his interest. That, and it was  _ fast _ . Throwing the brief case into the back he sat in the drivers seat and started the engine, waiting for Jou to climb into the passenger's side door. He waited until the blonde had just shut the door and stomped on the gas sending the engine roaring with life towards their destination.

"Ya think I'll just have ta wait with the car again?" Jou teased.

"Probably." Seto said bluntly.

Jou pouted, "Ya know, I do a lot for yous guys—"  **5**

"Don't complain to me," Seto cut him off, "I'm his adviser, not the boss, and _ you _ just try telling  _ him _ that you want to sit in on some boring meeting. We'll probably just be going over numbers as usual. Besides… isn't an uncle of yours a police officer?"

Snorting, Jou answered, "Yeah but I don't ever talk ta the guy!"

"Doesn't matter. You know the rules." Seto said still with the same stoic attitude.

Jou sighed, "I guess. Still don't seem fair."

Seto glanced over at the blonde and took a moment to reach for his hand.

"Look," Seto began, "You don't want to be involved with this sort of thing. Trust me. I know you think that it's all fun and games, and roughing people up, but it's not."

The blonde huffed once more before focusing on something out the window.

X

Yugi was not happy.

At midnight, he began to sneak out, and as predicted, without a problem, made his way to the party. Anchor Street was pretty easy to find on a Friday night since it was where most kids went to hang out.

However, upon arrival, he found Anzu and while everything started off peaches and cream, it ended up Anzu must have taken one too many shots at the bar and started treating Yugi like a freakin' baby panda and then making out with some guy in a booth.  **6**

Yugi was marching back home, and didn't even notice when he started to take the short cut back home… forgetting that it was right through dangerous territory—mafia territory.

X

Atemu's car pulled into the abandoned warehouse district and parked against one of the looming buildings. Atemu stepped out, removing his glasses for the first time, leaving his crimson eyes fully exposed. It was 20 minutes until midnight. He hoped the others would show early… he hated waiting.

10 minutes until midnight he heard the sound of an approaching car, signaling his two men to have guns at the ready, he instantly gave them the OK when he saw the car. An old 1968 Mustang GT rounded the corner and when the rumbling engine came to a halt, a figured began to step out.

"It's been a while Atemu."

The woman who stepped out from the classic car had a figure that could kill with long blonde hair spilling down to her lower back. Her eyes were a strange violet color with a stare to rival Atemu's. She wore a white corset covered with a black leather jacket, wearing white arm warmers, and had a black leather mini skirt with knee high matching boots. A gun was holstered to the exposed portion of her thigh.  **7**

"So it would seem," Atemu replied.

"Any word from Kaiba?" the woman asked.

"Not yet. He said he'd come, so I'm sure he'll show."

The underboss sighed, "Such confidence in your right hand man. It's good to hear."

Atemu cocked an eyebrow, "Having trouble with any Capodecina?"  **8**

Her gaze hardened, "You could say that."

As she spoke the blue BMW sounded in the distance, the four stood steady until seeing the car round the same corner as the Mustang had taken and let they relaxed. Seto stepped out and Jou drove the car back a few warehouses so he wasn't interfering.

"Seto." The girl greeted.

"Mai Kujaku," Seto let out a sort of laugh-cough, "Glad to see you're some how still alive."

"Can it chump." Mai defended.

Atemu rolled his eyes, "Alright you two. Down to business."


	2. Boss Interrupted

Yugi kicked a rock as he walked down a back ally, still sore about the display Anzu had put on at the party. He was sick of being so freakin' attached to her. What did she ever do for him anyway? Yugi sighed and thought it over. It was just a crush really; Anzu was beautiful, nice, and a good friend, but nothing more. The high school student had to come to terms with that. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to shake out all the negative thoughts running through his brain. All he wanted now was to get home, and go to bed, sound asleep, like he should be in the first place.

Not really paying attention to how far his short cut was going off course, he looked up when he noticed headlights up the street. People? He noticed two cars parked on either side of a group of people. Yugi could make out at least 4, maybe 5 people standing around. Despite his better instinct. He was tired, nothing good had happened at the party, so he shimmied up against a warehouse and started making his way towards the group. He could now clearly see five people in the group, and start to regret getting so close. There was one guy with his back towards Yugi, which had wild spiked black hair with streaks of a color Yugi couldn't quite make out in the dark. Two guys in black suits stood to each side of the spiky haired guy.

The other two were a tall brunette… Yugi could have sworn he'd seen his face before. And a very shapely blonde who had a…

**A GUN.**

Strapped to her thigh he could now see that it was definitely a gun.

What the hell did he get himself into this time?

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Atemu smirked as the two reluctantly ceased their bickering. They weren't the best of friends, but they were the best in the business. Mai and Seto both had a stubborn streak that clashed personally, but worked flawlessly on the job.

"So Mai," Atemu started, "Who's the Capodecina I should speak to?"  **1**

Mai sighed and looked away, "It might not be an issue but… Marik has been awfully… out of character lately. It makes me think he's up to something. He and Bakura were whispering like school girls one night and I happened to walk by, they clammed up immediately. Friendly as ever." She added sarcastically, "I don't know what they're up to but it makes me suspicious."

"Hm… And Malik? What's he been up to?"  **2**

"Malik's about as crazy as usual. Honestly, Atemu, I don't know why you hired the guy he's—"

"I know. Trust me. If I had family to take his place he wouldn't be in on this anymore. But he's useful. He gets the job done. And as far as family goes, well you both know that's quite limited for me."

Mai nodded and didn't say anything more.

"Seto. What are the figures like?" Atemu asked.

Seto opened a laptop that he had brought with him and turned it towards Atemu to see the graph that was displayed.

"What's this?" Atemu asked pointing to a dip on the charts.

Seto cringed, "A problem. That's for sure."

Atemu's crimson eyes flared up a bit, "What's the date on this."

"One week ago exactly."

The King's fist curled and he bit his lip, "You think it has to do with those three?"

"After hearing what Mai just said? Absolutely."

Atemu's muscles all seemed to coil, like a snake before a strike, he was furious. How dare those thieves try and pull money out of his pocket, out of  _ everyone's _ pocket. When you steal from Atemu, when you steal from the boss—the King? You steal from everyone… and Atemu wasn't the kind of guy to just sit back and take it.

Seto and Mai watched with baited breath as the King closed his eyes and seemed to be thinking. Finally, he seemed to relax, and opened his eyes, the fire behind them had gone out for now.

"Let's not jump to conclusions."

"I agree," Mai said, "Perhaps it's all coincidental. After all, they've been loyal to you through all these years and to do something this low, to steal from l _ a Famiglia, _ they know it would land them in trouble with  _ more _ than just you." **3**

Atemu sighed, "You've got a point. Can you trust someone under their command to answer you honestly, Mai?"

Mai nodded, "Of course. One of their associates who has recently come on the team has been working his way up in ranks quickly and should be useful to get to Marik and Bakura. He's Marik's man too, that makes it easier, I think Marik's a bigger pushover than Bakura could ever be."

Atemu agreed and looked back at the laptop Seto was still diligently holding. Glancing through the rest of the number, he noticed nothing more than the slight decline from the two clients Bakura and Marik were in charge of. No doubt they may have hassled the money out of their clients and then kept a little for them selves. Like they didn't already get paid enough… but it would be incredibly obvious. How could they think that Atemu wouldn't see it? Or did they think he was that bad of a boss that he wouldn't even care? The King didn't know which idea pissed him off more.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Meanwhile, Yugi was frozen to his spot. Hiding himself almost completely in a door frame of the warehouse, he tried to see more of what was going on. Who were these people? He thought about backing away slowly into the little door-way area he was currently standing in, and then he could shimmy back down the side of the warehouse and off into the night… but his legs weren't working properly. Yugi was too afraid that if he started to move, to attempt to sneak away, he'd just end up tripping over his own feet and giving his hiding spot away. So instead he stayed perfectly still and just listened. It couldn't be much longer… hopefully these guys weren't dumb enough to stick around all night. The cops did patrol this area after all…

_ Didn't _ they?

Yugi started to panic more. What if the cops didn't come down this way? Or what if these guys paid off the cops to stick their noses else where for the evening?  _ OR _ what if they  _ were _ cops and all this panic was for nothing? What if they weren't cops and the cops came and Yugi got in trouble because he was in the same location as these guys?

That was it. He had to move. There were too many risks of staying there that he didn't want to take. So he slowly picked up his left foot and inched it through the air backwards. Slowly, Yugi lowered it back down to the Earth and repeated the same procedure with his right foot.

Slowly up. Slowly down.

The high school student began to shift his weight backwards onto his right foot when he heard the spiky haired one let out a curse word. Yugi's eyes jerked up from their current job of watching where his feet were going and in that moment, Yugi tripped.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Atemu sighed and then turned to Seto, "Find out where the money is being extracted from and deal with the two who took it out."

Seto nodded, "I'll do my best. If my men can't find it though, how they took it… what are we going to do?"

"What if Bakura is behind this…" Mai chimed in, "Are you just going to kick him out?"

Atemu looked between the two and ran a hand through his hair as he felt his anxiety growing, "I don't know. I don't know. Hell, if we can't find a trace then we can set up new accounts. Maybe it was just those two idiots that work for Bakura..." He growled, "And if Bakura's behind it… FU—"

The rest of his profanity was cut off by a metallic bang that rang out from behind Atemu. The five were instantly on edge. The two goons and Mai had pulled out their guns that were dutifully pointed directly towards where the sound had come from. Atemu put up a hand as a signal to hold it.

There on the ground was a wimpy looking  _ kid _ with funny hair not but 30 feet from where they had been talking.

"Who the hell are you?" Atemu called out.

The kid was on his back, holding himself up by his elbows, still obviously shaken. He had large lighter colored eyes (Atemu couldn't tell the exact color in the dark) and black spiked hair similar to the King's own style. His eyes were filled with fear; Atemu could tell he was shaking. He was just a kid after all. But what the hell was a kid doing back here.

"Did you not hear me? Tell me who the hell you are before I tell my men to put some holes in you." Atemu threatened. No mercy in his voice.

"M-my name is Higure." Yugi lied quickly. **4**

"Really… why don't you come over here Higure. Don't try any funny business or you'll be dead in a second."

Yugi gulped, still shaking. He was dead.  _ Dead _ . He knew it. There was no way they would just say, "Oh you were just walking by, we're sure!" He didn't even have anything to drink at the party so he couldn't fake being slightly tipsy to get away with his intrusion. Yugi pushed himself up off the ground and started to walk over to the group, slowly.

The five watched the boy like hawks, making sure he didn't pull anything on them. Like he would even try under the sights of 3 guns. As he approached who he assumed was the leader, he began to notice that the guy's eyes were  _ red _ . Not just any red though, crimson  blood red. This only served to cause Yugi to shiver more. Was this guy a demon? No, that's too crazy. But, Yugi had never even heard of red eyes. Maybe they were contacts… that had to be it.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing back here?" Atemu asked.

Yugi cringed at his language, it's not like he expected the guy to be polite about it, he just wasn't quite ready to die. He tried to steady his voice.

"I was wa-walking home." He got out.

"How do I know you don't work for someone who wants me dead."

"W-What? Why would I want you dead? I don't even know who any of you are!" Yugi pleaded, "I was just walking home! I swear!"

Atemu walked over to the boy and in a second, grabbed Yugi by his jacket, yanking him up so that they were face to face.

Atemu stopped, so did the world, for only a second.

In the streetlight he could see the boy's eyes were violet. Not blue, not just a different shade of blue. These eyes were the purest color violet he had ever seen.

The second passed and Atemu growled threateningly, "Look kid. I know I'm one to love playing games. But now isn't the time. Where do you live?"

Yugi was trying not to cry out, he didn't want even more trouble, "I-I live at the Game Shop in downtown Domino."

Yugi gave his address, not noticing Seto typing it into his laptop.

"You better say your prayers, kid." Seto chimed in, "There's no Higure listed as living at that address."

Yugi gulped as Atemu's eyes slowly closed, then slowly opened. A fire seemed to be burning deep within them. It felt like the fire was burning Yugi where the taller man's hands grabbed his jacket and he started to panic. Yugi grabbed Atemu's hands and started to try and kick and pull himself away.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Atemu warned lowly.

Yugi immediately froze. He totally had forgotten about the guns directed at his head, a hard thing to miss, but even as he stood there, totally stone cold from Atemu's tone, he began to feel the need to vomit. Atemu must have somehow realized this (maybe Yugi had gone pale?) and pushed the kid back right before Yugi left his dinner all over the ground.

Atemu scrunched his nose at the smell, but merely stated: "I don't think he's any sort of agent."

Mai sighed, "What gave that away? The vomit? The cowering? The youth?"

"Just shut up, Mai." Seto said rubbing his forehead, "What do we do with him? He might have heard something. And he's seen you, more importantly me talking to you."

Atemu kept an eye on Yugi as he tried to compose himself after his elimination.

"He's just a kid. But you have a point. He's not that young. He can put two and two together."

"Please just let me go. I don't know any of you. I just want to get home." Yugi muttered weakly.

"Too bad. Franz, put him in the trunk." **5**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 Capodecina or "head of ten", to put it roughly (chain of command: Atemu, Seto and Mai, Bakura, Malik and Marik) So Atemu is boss, Seto and Mai have equal footing but Seto is like Atemu's adviser and Mai is in charge of the Capodecina (Bakura, Marik and Malik) who all run their own "group of ten". For more detail, google Sicilian Mafia  
> 2 I'm using Malik as Yami Marik, and Marik as… regular Marik xD  
> 3 la Famiglia: family, Italian. Mobs are much like family, usually run by one family, in this case, there isn't much tying the group by family (minus Seto and Atemu) but more a bond of honor and trust.  
> 4 Higure: opposite of daybreak, Japanese. I mean to use this later in the story. I thought about making his fake name Hikari (light), buuuut… you'll see :D  
> 5 The name Franz is actually making a hint at the Abridged Series by LittleKuriboh. I thought Kaiba's German bodyguards were hilarious and decided to transfer the idea when naming one of Atemu's henchmen ;)


	3. Kidnapped

Yugi could feel the bounce of the car and every turn they made, it wasn't helping his nausea.

He still remembered seeing the blunt end of the pistol coming down on his head, then feeling a stinging pain on his skull, then seeing black, and then winding up in this stupid cramped trunk. Well, in all honesty it was a large trunk, but being tied up wasn't helping any claustrophobia he had been feeling. His breath smelled from the vomit and his throat stung, his leg was falling asleep… he just wanted to cry.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Atemu felt slight regret as the young boy fell to the ground unconscious, luckily missing the puddle of sick not far off. He couldn't trust him though. He'd already given Atemu a false name: Higure. This boy didn't seem like he could be any sort of spy, but there was no telling. For now, he'd have to take him with him and discuss further options with Seto and Mai.

Riding in the back seat, all Atemu could think of was the boy cramped in the back. He wondered how long he'd been truly listening. What if he didn't even hear anything? What was the point of dragging him all the way out here just to decide his fate? The cars slowed and pulled over to a dark black building, a closed restaurant. The driver and passenger, Franz, got out and went over to the trunk; Atemu let himself out and joined the two men to open the trunk.

The trunk popped open gently and Atemu looked over the boy, awkwardly crumpled against one side of the trunk, still tied, and with his eyes slightly red: crying?

"It's time to move it, kid." Said one of the thugs to Atemu's left.

The two goons lifted Yugi out of the trunk, not much caring if he hit his head on anything on the way up, as they started to drag him away Atemu watched carefully. He couldn't risk showing this kid any sort of compassion… at least for now.

Atemu walked towards the dark locked doors of the restaurant and pulled a set of keys from his jacket pocket. Unlocking the doors, he swung them open wide to allow the two carrying the boy through. As soon as the trio was inside, Atemu shut and locked the doors once again. Seto and Mai should arrive shortly, but they could use their own keys to enter.

When Atemu turned the two had set the boy at a booth and walked to guard the entrances, leaving the boy tied onto a wooden beam not far off. Sighing, Atemu made his way to sit.

"What are you going to do with me?" The boy asked.

"It depends on how well you cooperate. I would suggest first telling me your  _ real _ name."

Yugi's glance shifted. He already gave them his address, and he was sure looking up a photo ID from his high school wouldn't be hard for them… whoever they were.

"It's Yugi." He said weakly, he was hoping his grandpa wouldn't be hurt, after all, they could find where he lived now.

In a moment, Atemu pulled out his cell phone and had entered something in using the keys. He sat the phone down to his side on the table between the two.

"Now, Yugi, who are you working for?" Atemu asked looking directly into Yugi's eyes.

Yugi's spine felt like it would shiver right out from his back, those  _ eyes _ …

"I don't work for anyone. I don't even know who you are." Yugi tried to stay calm, and honest.

He had thought the fake name was a good idea at first, but now he had no idea who he was messing with. All he wanted to do was get out of here and back to normal life. Obviously honesty wasn't the only thing this guy needed though. Those crimson eyes were still staring through him. Yugi couldn't honestly think the intensity coming from the gaze was staring  _ at _ him or he might have to look away, and he figured a move like that would make him look like a liar.

Atemu suddenly pushed himself over the table and was hovering close to Yugi's face… uncomfortably close for Yugi, "If you're lying to me, you'd better be ready to face the consequences. I don't take well to liars."

The shorter one gulped. And suddenly he could see all too well what the King was wearing. He hadn't had time to notice before, what with the imminent threat of a gun and possibly death, but now he saw tight leather and a black top were snugly grasping to the taller one's body. Yugi couldn't help but notice the muscle underneath the light material…

The phone Atemu had set on the table let out a small jingle indicating it had received a message. In one swift movement, Atemu grasped the phone and reclined back in the booth. He read over the message.

"Good thing you gave me your real name this time. It looks like your record is pretty clean, kid." Atemu looked back at Yugi, "Lucky break."

The cell phone had a picture of Yugi on it, he caught a glimpse of the rest when the phone was set back down, must have been his whole life written out on that screen…

"So, does this mean I can leave now?" The student asked.

The crimson-eyed Don let out a sardonic laugh, "Hardly. I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation… you really don't know who I am?"

Yugi shook his head in confusion, this guy didn't look familiar, the brunette had but he still couldn't put his finger on it.

Atemu sighed and crossed his arms, breaking his gaze off of Yugi (finally) and concentrating on something else in a dimly lit corner of the restaurant.

"Look, that's pretty hard to believe, that you don't know who I am that is… unless you don't watch TV, or read the paper…"

Atemu let his gaze slide back over to Yugi, observing the blush that crept across his face.

"Well, not really, I mean, on occasion if I know something big is happening but besides that it's not really interesting to me. Even then I usually just listen to what gets talked about in school. I work a lot and play a lot of games, you know, card games, board games so— " Yugi stopped, why the heck would he tell this crimson-eyed (handsome… ' _ Whoa, where did that come from?' _ ) Freak, anything about what he did? Yugi didn't even know this guys name…

"Look, I really don't know who you are so, can't I at least have a name?" Yugi asked timidly, it couldn't hurt to try.

Atemu couldn't help but grin at the sheer innocence in this kid's eyes.

"If you don't already know, then I don't think you really want to know," He stated.

Yugi was getting impatient, "Look, I can't just say 'hey you' if I'm going to be sitting here with you for much longer."

"Why not? I think it would work just fine since it's only the two of us."

Yugi pouted, causing Atemu to involuntarily smirk once again, "What are we waiting for? Are you just going to sit here and interrogate me? I thought… I mean, I kind of thought you'd have me killed by now."

Atemu sighed and rested his head on his hands, "Now, listen kid,"

"Hey and why are you calling me kid? You can't be that much older than me..."

The King was taken aback at the interjection, "Um, well, no I guess not. Your record said you were 18?"

"That's right."

Atemu paused then crossed his arms over his chest, "I'm still calling you kid. Now, what was I saying… ah, listen… this business isn't run on killing everyone who gets in our way. I've got to wait to decide what to do with you…"

The lapse in talking cause Yugi's heart to pound, just what was this  _ business _ that this guy ran…

"But I think I know what would be the best…  _ punishment _ for listening in… after all, I'm sure someone taught you that it's rude to eves-drop."

Yugi blushed and dropped his head muttering something.

"I didn't quite hear you. Nobody taught you to speak up?" Atemu asked with a smirk.

"I'd take it all back if I could," Yugi said a little louder, "I was just so mad."

Atemu stopped, what was this kid talking about?

Before Atemu could ask, the front doors of the restaurant opened and two familiar figures walked in with one more in toe. The two from the meeting near the warehouses were the first to walk in, the tall brunette with the ice-cold blue eyes, and the blonde… with the gun (Yugi couldn't help but gulp at that again as he checked to see it still snugly holstered against her thigh). The third was a guy that Yugi hadn't seen before, Jou, with jeans and a plain white and blue t-shirt on. The blonde boy stopped as soon as he saw Yugi and crossed his arms. Obviously disappointed.

" _ Dat _ scrawny punk is what got yous guys all worked up? He's just'a kid! He's got to be like, 12 or sumtin'!" Jou said with annoyance written on his face. He wanted to be part of their mafia, but not if that entailed babysitting.

Yugi couldn't help but twitch an eye at that statement. He was  _ 18 _ darn it. Just because he was short…

"Shut up, mutt." Seto growled at the blonde, "He's your age. Plus, it doesn't matter who we bring in, you shouldn't have even followed."

"Cuz I thought ya'd actually be dealin' wit somebody who was a  _ threat _ ." Jou snapped.

Atemu stood; the two shut up and gave him their full attention, "Jou. If you're going to start coming here, even when you know I don't usually allow people in your…  _ situation _ , to do so, then you need to understand,  _ anyone _ could be a threat. But I've already ran this kid's," he noticed Yugi flinch at once again being called a kid, "background. He's clean from the looks of it. But that doesn't mean he isn't already more involved than he should be."

"Y-you've been calling it 'clean'. Are you… like, cops or something?" Yugi asked.

Atemu looked at Yugi, his slanted eyes grew slightly large, and then he burst out into laughter. The whole room went silent, watching the crimson-eyed man clutch his sides as he doubled over from the innocent question. Trying to contain himself, he looked at a now red-faced Yugi, his large lavender eyes looking downcast.

"No, Yugi, hah, we're  _ nothing _ like cops." Atemu grinned at the smaller boy and couldn't help but think that the red creeping up on the younger's face had grown.

Yugi seemed to be all out of questions, so Atemu turned his attention back on the trio that had walked in, "So Mai, can you afford to take one more on your staff?"

"You've got to be kidding me, you want  _ me _ to babysit him?"

"Hey!" They all looked at Yugi, he'd already dared to make himself the center of attention so he decided to go ahead and voice what he was thinking, "L-look, it's not like I  _ want  _ to be here. I'm obviously just a pain to you guys. Why, why don't you just le-let me go? A-And I'm not a kid. Or a baby. Or anything. I don't need to be taken care of."

Atemu smirked; the kid at least had guts. Stuck in a room of thugs, even though apparently he really  _ was  _ clueless to the amount of danger he could be in.

Mai blinked, taken aback at the outburst, "Well sorry, honey. Guess I wouldn't mind a guy like you on my staff." She smirked.

"W-Wait. What kind of staff?" Yugi blinked.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVVIVIVIVIV**

"You've got to be kidding me." Yugi said looking into the mirror.

"Hey bud, you got yourself in'ta this so don't look at  _ me _ wit dem puppy eyes." Jou said crossing his arms, thoroughly not amused at having to help.

Yugi sighed and looked back in the mirror. He'd obviously been given an offer he couldn't refuse (A/N: haaa I couldn't help it), and now he wished he could. He wore gondolier's outfit, complete with a black and white striped shirt, black slacks, (and in his opinion) a stupid hat that tipped to one side due to his spiky hair, and stupid scarf tied neatly around his neck.

"The boss pride's himself on this restaurant's authenticity. I've ran this joint here quite a while, kid—er," Mai stopped herself and looked back at him to see how he'd take the slip, when he didn't correct her, she continued, "I'll show you the ropes in no time."

Mai was standing behind him looking over the uniform.

"But it's a  _ restaurant _ . I swear, if he makes me sing and take orders I'll—"

"Chill out Yug, he won't make ya sing." Jou chuckled.

It seemed like the blush on Yugi's face was permanent.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIV**

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Atemu?" Seto growled as they walked past the kitchens of the restaurant and back towards the staff quarters.

"I'm making sure that a liability is under my constant watch." Atemu said simply, "I've already given his grandfather a call, told him Yugi was selected from his high school for a very special Italian immersion experience. The guardians always fall for that one, always so excited that their little ones are like the freakin' chosen ones. Ha."

"This is risky, Atemu." Seto sighed, "Look, I understand you might be a little bored and think that you can keep him around like a  _ pet  _ or something, but don't you remember the  _ little _ problem our finances are having right now? I don't exactly think this is the best idea."

"Look Seto, what else would you have me do? He may or may not have heard vital information… sure he doesn't seem to be any sort of spy, but if the enemy gets a hold of him they could get information out of him that's valuable whether he realizes it or not. Like you said, this  _ little _ problem in our finances isn't something we want anyone on the outside to know anything about."

Seto cringed, "I guess I see your point."

"Good. Then you know why he needs to work here. For a while at least, until we get this whole mess figured out."

Seto stopped, Atemu turned to face him, "What's on your mind, Seto?"

"Atemu, I saw the way you acted around him."

"What do you mean?"

"You drop your guard around him. The way you laughed… I haven't heard you laugh like that since before…" Seto's sentence trailed off, "Besides, I think that using him as your double is a much better idea. Just think, you'd never have to get in harms way ever again! It's crazy weird how similar you two look… he could be so much better than just working at this  _ dump _ ."

"Watch what you call it."

"Oh shove off it Atemu, this place has seen better days you have to admit,"

"Whatever, Kaiba." Atemu sighed looking slightly disconnected, "He's way too naïve to be placed out and cover for me. If he were to go out there, he wouldn't last. I can't bring myself to place him in any amount of danger,"

"See what I mean… the walls are dropping." Seto mumbled cautiously.

"I'll be careful, Seto." Atemu said before continuing to the back rooms.

"Tch, like I care." Seto said flippantly. "You go down and I get this whole business to myself. That means I'd actually run it like a proper mafia organization. Not tippy-toe around the real crime."

"Always the charmer, Seto."

"It's what I'm good at."

The two walked behind a curtain, joining the trio observing Yugi's new wardrobe. Atemu couldn't help the blush that suddenly crept up on his face. Yugi looked adorable in the outfit he'd been given. The black and white looked good on him, but it was the amethyst accent in the scarf (which must have been Mai's touch, she had a knack for that sort of thing, after all, most of her employees were actually girls, so she knew how to dress them up to look their best) that brought out his eyes, and Ra did he look adorable. The blush that graced Yugi's face gave him even more of an innocent air; Atemu had never seen such angelic features.

Yugi looked up in the mirror's reflection and saw Atemu standing there, when he saw the King move his hand in front of his face and look away he could only think one thing.

"Oh sure, go ahead and laugh at me… it's your fault I'm in this get-up." Yugi pouted, completely clueless.

"Yugi you look adorable." Mai assured, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and turning him back out of the room, "Come on, hun, I'll get you your schedule and living quarters."

Atemu, Seto and Jou stayed in the room as Mai led Yugi out, starting to list some of his responsibilities.

"Sure you can handle yourself, Atemu?" Seto said with a smirk.

"What'cha mean by that, Kaiba?" Jou asked confused.

Seto looked over to Jou, "Did I ask you, mutt?"

Jou's eye twitched, "Fine, jerk." And he stomped out.

Atemu uncovered his face, smirking at his cousin, showing the remnants of a blush, "Look, Seto. I'll be fine. Why don't you go tend to the puppy you just kicked."

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Yugi followed around Mai, trying to remember why he agreed to this.

' _ Look, he's giving you the easy way out, take it  _ kid _ or I'll give you a harder second option.' _ Seto's threat echoed through Yugi's mind.

They  _ still  _ refused to give Yugi his captor's name. But he had learned Mai's, Jou's, and Seto's (Kaiba to his face of course). But Crimson (what else could he call him) they didn't bother telling him a name, Yugi looked back over to where Mai was explaining how to lock and unlock draws at the register.

"H-Hey, Mai?" Yugi piped.

"Yeah?" She responded, looking away from the drawer she had just opened.

"Um… well, since I figure he's going to be around, what's his name? You know, the guy with the red eyes."

"Oh, well, look Yugi, I'm not sure I should be the one to tell you, if he hasn't introduced himself, it's not really my place. I mean he's supposed to only introduce himself, it's sort of against the rules to give his name out without permission."

Yugi's jaw dropped, "Whoa, wait! What rules? If I'm going to be living here shouldn't I know them too? I still don't even know what he meant by this  _ business _ he runs. I kind of have a hunch that a bunch of restaurant owners wouldn't be meeting in a dark alley with guns just to discuss the next day's menu."

"You've got spunk Yugi… you better hope it doesn't get you in trouble." Mai sighed, "Let's go find the boss."


	4. The Kings

Atemu had finally gotten Seto off his back. The brunette had quite honestly been starting to piss the crimson-eyed Don off with all his talk about the finances.  _ Yes _ , Atemu realized they had a situation on their hands, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it right now. They hadn't found out who was pulling money out of the family's pockets, so there wasn't anyone to go after… yet.

If Atemu was being totally honest with himself, Kaiba should have been the one to run the business, but Atemu's father was older than Kaiba's, so Atemu got the  _ "privileged right" _ to have the job. He had become the Don when he was 16, hardly knowing what to do, he wasn't  _ ready _ to take the position, but didn't have much of a choice. Luckily, Seto had bailed him out of more shit than he could recall. Being the only real family Atemu had left, he felt a strong connection to the brunette, even if said blue-eyed CEO was kind of a jerk, ok not kind of, he was the epitome of the word.

Yugi had come into the picture at a not-so-great time, but Atemu couldn't help but be intrigued by this boy. He was so, innocent, naïve, and so trusting. He was, seemingly, the complete opposite of Atemu. Where they looked so similar, they also differed in the same extremes. Atemu chuckled thinking back to the fake name Yugi had first given him, Higure… more like Nikkou  **1** … If Yugi was like the light, then Atemu was like the dark.

Atemu worked his way to the restaurant's kitchens, checking over the menus and preparation details listed on the back wall. He hadn't been to Domino in quite a while to check in on things, but this restaurant seemed to be flourishing. Sure it maybe wasn't in the best of shape appearance wise, as Seto had so kindly pointed out, but Atemu started to think it was about time he put in the extra cash to fix this place up. He was actually half surprised Mai hadn't done it herself; she grew really attached to this side business. Atemu was sure she enjoyed working as a restaurant owner more than she did working for the mafia, she had joined when she was at a low point in her life… crime wasn't really her thing, but she was actually pretty good at roughing people up and getting the job done. Plus, it paid the bills.

"Hey, he wants to ask you something…" Said a voice from behind Atemu.

Atemu smirked and turned around to address Mai, "Well, speak of the devil."

"What? You talking about me?" Mai looked around and gave him a funny look, "To whom? If I may ask?"

Atemu chuckled and waved his hand dismissively, "Just myself, but don't worry about it. Now, what did you need to ask me, Yugi?"

Yugi cleared his throat slightly, trying to get the dryness to go away, the same anxious worry that held him back from saying quite a few things to this guy about his new predicament.

"Look, I… I think that since I technically work for you, I should have the right to know your name." Yugi explained.

Atemu looked at him and sighed, "Alright kid."

"Really?" Yugi lit up, the innocence again amusing Atemu.

"But," Atemu hesitated, "I think we should make it a little more interesting than just some boring meet and greet."

Yugi's amethyst eyes started to show a hint of worry, "Ok… and by that you mean?"

The King's own crimson orbs flared with delight, "You said you liked to play games, right?"

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

The two were huddled together over a computer in a cramped room. It wasn't the best hide out, but it would have to do for now.

"Look, he hasn't even tried to track us yet."

"Really? What an idiot, it's not like we've got the greatest security system on our side. He's got Seto  _ freaking  _ Kaiba working for him and he's not trying to track us?"

"Yeah, one of our spies said he saw that they had an intruder in their last meeting, I don't know whether it was another organization or not, but sounds like the King has his hands a little full."

The darker one smiled, "Great… then he won't miss another chunk from his savings."

The lighter looked at the darker in anticipation, "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"What if he's trying to track us and doing a good job of not letting us know… what then?"

"Then he tracks us and kills us."

"That's encouraging." The lightered turned to begin working at the small computer, reading over numbers and figures, they hesitated, "Wait…"

"What?"

"Look, an alert is going off."

"Shit. Turn the computer off,  _ now _ ." The dark figure growled

The monitor went black.

"That was too close. We'll try back later. Maybe get a new computer. What we took from the King's little group should support us for now."

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Seto threw his brief case onto the desk, clearly fed up with having to wait on Atemu to take action. He truly did love his cousin as family does, but he couldn't believe the amount of interest he had taken in this Yugi kid. What if he was a spy, what if he let what he saw slip, what if he went to the cops and let them know about Seto's involvement with Atemu? There were too many risks involved. Sure the cops had tried to pin Seto before, but they never had anything more than him being Atemu's cousin, if they got any evidence on him, that would be the end of Kaiba Corporation and the end of a good amount of The King's financial support. It was easier having a clean company running most of the money; you can only get so much from telling people that they had better pay up for their protection. Domino had its crime rings though, and the King was known for excellent protection services… after all, their mafia was a higher standard. They didn't mess around with petty theft, and didn't kill people very often. They had rules, regulations, guidelines, hell, even morals if you wanted to call them that.

But Seto didn't much care for whoever was trying to mess up what they had going. After all, he believed that this mafia family was just what this city needed to get the low level thugs off the citizen's backs. If it hadn't been for the Three Kings Mafia, half the city of Domino would be over run by guys stealing grannies' purses. Well, maybe not to that extreme, but crime rates would certainly be higher.

And, Seto always thought to himself, at least they weren't doing something like selling drugs to kids… I mean come on; there were plenty of mafias in the surrounding cities that were doing a lot worse than the Three Kings. The Mafioso of the Three Kings weren't allowed to sell drugs, Atemu had a problem with it, so he banned it, and they also were of course banned from theft and kidnapping.

'Although,' Thought Seto with a scowl, 'what would you call what  _ we _ did to Yugi?'

Maybe taking someone hostage was somehow different from kidnapping to Atemu. Seto didn't know what was going through the King's mind, but usually a situation like Yugi was dealt with quickly and quietly…

And while killing wasn't usually their thing, there was always the exception. After all, this kids only living relative was his Grandpa… it's not like there would be a huge investigation…

Seto shook his head trying to clear his thoughts, 'Atemu sees something in him… I've got to trust his judgment. For now.'

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

"Do you always suck this bad at chess or is this your first time playing?" Atemu asked lazily.

Yugi scoffed, "I do not suck at anything."

He quickly realized how wrong that sounded and continued.

"I'll have you know I'm usually one of the top chess players around…" Yugi quickly blurted out, "I demand a rematch."

Atemu smirked, "No way."

"Fine. How about a different game?"

"Oh really, what did you have in mind?" Atemu asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, have you ever heard of a game called Duel Monsters?"

"Yugi…I—" Atemu caught himself about to give away that he  _ owned _ almost half the rights to Kaiba Corporation… of  _ course _ he knew about Duel Monsters… "Yes, I've heard of it."

Yugi blushed, "Uh well, yeah! How about that?"

Atemu chuckled, "Let me just go grab my deck."

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Seto sat at his desk, clicking furiously away at the charts, cradling a cell phone against his cheek. Papers littered his desk. Even though it was late at night, the CEO was focused completely on his computer and his phone call.

"They must have noticed you some how to cut the computer's connection just in time," Seto spat.

"Yes sir. We don't know how yet though." Said the voice from the other side of the line.

"Look. Do me a favorite and find Bakura and tell him to get his lazy ass up here  _ now. _ "

"Yes sir."

Seto slammed the cell phone down. They were so  _ close  _ to catching these mofos… and once they did, Seto swore it would be  _ war _ .

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

"And that takes out the rest of your life points!" Yugi exclaimed, celebrating a victory over the wine-eyed man.

"Hmm. I think you cheated." Atemu said quite seriously.

"What! I would never cheat!" Yugi said leaning over the table, one hand clenched up next to his face in opposition, trying to drive home his honesty and integrity.

"Hah, I guess," Atemu grinned, "Well if you  _ did _ win fair and square, I guess I owe you a name."

Yugi nodded, satisfied, and sat back in the booth with a grin, "That's right. So let's have it, boss."

The corner of Atemu's lips twitched, but it was almost sad, " Tell me, Yugi, have you ever heard of a group called the Three Kings?"

Yugi thought, he wasn't sure, but the name did sound slightly familiar… maybe he had heard it on the evening news…

**-A Few Weeks Prior-**

_ Yugi was sitting on the counter in the game shop… his legs swung gently as he watched the television sitting out in the storefront. The TV wasn't usually on, but since it had been such a slow evening, the young boy decided to go ahead and watch it for a bit. _

' _ The Domino Public is advised to stay indoors this evening as reports of a fight has broken out between the street gang, Le Protêt, and the infamous mafia, the Three Kings. Gunshots have been fired on the corner of…' _

_ Yugi remembered seeing a picture of some unknown gang leaders on the television, but no one memorable. He saw that the Three Kings mafia was a group rarely crossed. _

**-Present Time-**

"Ah… do you mean that mafia that supposedly has its headquarters in Domino? The same group that made the news a few weeks ago?" Yugi asked.

Atemu nodded, trying to gauge Yugi's reaction, "Yes, that group."

"Sure, I've heard of them… but hey! What does this have to do with your name, you're just stalling…"

Atemu let the sad smile slip back onto his face, "No Yugi. I'm not stalling. This has everything to do with my name. See, around here, they call me the King."

Yugi's eyes widened, "You mean you're… you're the head of Three Kings?"

Yugi felt his pulse quicken, he was sitting across from a mob boss? He just beat a freakin' mob boss in a card game and now he was probably about to be killed, maybe he wasn't allowed to know this guys name!

"Yes. I am."

"W-Wait so… what happens to me n-now?" Yugi stammered.

"What do you mean? You're already under our care." Atemu said with a confused look, "You'll work here. Obviously now that you know you're on the mafia's watch, we can't just have you wandering around."

Yugi gulped, maybe he could run away from this place… Atemu saw the fear creeping into Yugi's eyes and sighed. He reclined against the booth's seat and ran a hand through his multicolored hair.

"Look, Yugi. No one wanted you to get involved. But trust me," Crimson eyes met and locked onto Amethyst, "this is the best thing for you… and your grandfather."

Yugi's weak spot had been hit, "I know… Seto said something about that… that me working here would keep Grandpa safe…"

Atemu nodded, "If any rival gang or mafia found out that you knew what was going on here, they'd be all over your family, and they'd do anything to get information out of you."

"But I hardly know anything!" Yugi protested, "I didn't even get to hear half of what you guys were talking about last night and now…"

The high school student stopped and attempted to subdue a yawn. Atemu looked up at the clock, it was 4 in the morning.

"You must be exhausted," Atemu said looking down at the younger boy, "Just go to bed."

"Where do I sleep?" Yugi let out meekly.

Atemu sighed gently and stood up, "Follow me."

The two headed back down the same hall past the kitchens, and then past the room Yugi had gotten the uniform from. They finally came to the end of the hallway and Atemu pushed aside a curtain. They were in a sort of lobby area; no one else was around, probably already going to bed after the day's commotion. Yugi followed Atemu to the third door on the back wall and entered it when Atemu flicked on the light. It was a pretty simple area, a desk, a bed, and a closet. The walls were a nice blue color, though Yugi guessed it would look nicer with some sunshine coming through the window (which he noticed had bars across it).

"The bathrooms are marked out in the lobby. This space is for employees only. This can be your room. We could always bring things from your home... pillows, sheets, books… anything that makes you feel comfortable." Atemu explained.

Yugi stopped looking around the room to look back at Atemu.

"Why?"

Atemu's face scrunched up in question, "What do you mean, why? Why what?"

"Why go through all this trouble just to have me here?"

Atemu's face relaxed, "You think we're too soft for a mafia or something?"

"N-No?" Yugi didn't want to offend him.

Atemu saw Yugi's face, innocent and confused, when he began to laugh.

"Sorry Yugi, you've just got the… the best expressions." Atemu had to stop himself from saying  _ cutest _ .

Yugi blushed, "I just don't know why you guys don't… I don't know, lock me in a prison or something."

Atemu grinned, "Servitude is so much more fitting."

Atemu watched the redness on Yugi's face continue to grow and he chuckled, he didn't want to tell the shorter boy that not only did he want Yugi under 24/7 watch, he had actually looked into the Game Shop and knew it wasn't doing so hot in finances itself. If Yugi worked here, he'd make more than enough to help his Grandpa out… but Atemu decided the little game boy could figure it out himself.

"Well," Atemu sighed, "I'll let you be then."

"G-Goodnight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 Nikkou (Japanese) : Sunlight


	5. New Kid

Yugi watched as Atemu walked back towards the front exit of the restaurant. Turning shyly back towards his new room, he couldn't help but sigh. He still had so many questions… he didn't even get a  _ real  _ name… just "the King". How ominous.

Yugi started to think about his Grandpa, wondering if he was doing well, as he found a pair of simple blue pajamas in one of the drawers. There were several different sized pairs; he grabbed the smallest ones there were. They were still a little big for his tiny frame, but fit nonetheless. Yugi looked into a mirror in his room. Mai had told him that tomorrow he could just get adjusted to being here, but the day after that he'd have to start training for work. Hopefully working here wouldn't be too bad… who knew; maybe he could learn some good business strategies for the Game Shop? But… what if he got caught working here, since it's technically mafia run… could he be putting his Grandpa in danger? He'd have to ask the King next time he saw him.

Curling up in the cotton sheets, warmth enveloping him, Yugi drifted off into a peaceful sleep… crimson eyes flashing in his memory before complete darkness.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Morning light poured through the windows of Atemu's loft apartment in downtown Domino. Atemu had a meeting with Seto back at his offices at Kaiba Corporation. Hopefully the two of them could get closer to figuring out the financial problems, and hopefully they wouldn't have any interruptions this time.

The crimson-eyed Don checked himself in the mirror once more. Black suit, white shirt, and a silk black tie, complete with gold cuff links and of course his patent leather shoes. The outfit itself was simple, but it made Atemu look like a rock star. He grabbed his sunglasses, slipped them on, and headed out to his Benz in the parking lot.

"Good morning, Herr Kaji." Greeted his driver.  **1**

"Hey Franz."

"Where to?" Franz opened the door as Atemu slipped into the back seat.

"I need to see Seto. He should be at Kaiba Corporation's main headquarters."

"Yes sir. Right away." Franz shut the door and moved around the car to get into the drivers seat.

"Oh but, Franz?"

"Yes, Herr Kaji?"

"I need coffee."

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Mai was wiping off the bar, working on setting up the registers before the lunch opening time. It was still only 8 in the morning, they generally opened at 11:30, and so she had enough time to get situated. It had been a late night with getting Yugi on the team. Luckily he'd be paid under the table, so at least she didn't have to deal with paper work bullshit that usually came along with a new hire. Mai couldn't decide if she should have Yugi working as a host, waiter, or bus boy. Atemu had mentioned working him as a waiter, but perhaps customers seeing Yugi's smiling face first thing as a host would be the best for the kid.

Mai grinned; the amethyst-eyed boy certainly had charm… she could see why Atemu wanted to keep him around… for more than just security purposes.

"Good morning, Ms. Mai." Came a voice form the hallway.

"Oh! Yugi! Good morning! You're up pretty early, you could sleep in if you needed." Mai suggested with a smile.

"It's OK, I'm used to waking up early… you know, school and all."

"That's right… did the King say anything to you about how he wants you to go about getting to school?"

Yugi shook his head, "No. We didn't get to talk about a lot after he told me he was, well, who he is."

"Alright," Mai sighed; "We can figure that out later. Lucky for us it's a Saturday anyway."

Yugi nodded and followed Mai to the registers that she had been counting, "What will I be doing then?"

"Hmm… well I was hoping to talk to you about that," She glanced over at him, noticing he hadn't put on the uniform, "You could either: wear that same outfit as yesterday and wait tables… I'm pretty sure Kingy just picked it out to tease you."

"What's the other option?" Yugi quickly asked with a shudder remembering the embarrassing outfit he'd tried on yesterday night (or perhaps this morning).

"Well, I suppose all black formal attire and working host wouldn't be too bad?"

"That would be great!" Yugi grinned, "I'd just have to greet and seat people right?"

"Pretty much," Mai shrugged, "It's a start anyway. But you'll also have to keep track of the open tables, I'll help you learn that, and remember Yugi… in this position you would be the first and last thing most people see coming into the restaurant. You pretty much have a smile plastered to your face… but while you're working do try to remember that being greeted by a friendly smile is the best thing!"

Yugi nodded, "Right!"

Mai grinned, "You're such a character, Yugi. I think you'll be a great host."

"Thanks, Mai-san." Yugi said, face turning red.

"And please, just Mai is fine."

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Atemu made his way up to Kaiba's offices, coffee now warming his hands and his insides. He smiled faintly, what a turn last night had taken… but now it was back to business. Red eyes flashed, something dangerous was stirring in him. A darker side of him. The side that had ran this mafia for the past six years without getting killed. Sure he had done some things that he wasn't quite proud of… but this was the business. This was the closest thing he had to family. And right now, this family,  _ his  _ family, was going through some hard times. So personal life aside, he'd be  _ damned _ if someone thought they could screw around with his family and get away with it. He rode the elevator to the top floor; of course Seto's office would be on the top floor… it was the only elevation that could handle his ego.

The crimson-eyed Don stepped out of the lift and walked towards the large glass doors to the only office on the entire floor. A gold (probably real gold knowing Seto) plaque with the CEO's name was hung meticulously next to the doors. Atemu, not needing to knock, swung the doors wide open and was greeted by two figures: The first being his brunette cousin, the second being the supposed  _ rat  _ in their whole operation.

"Seto." Atemu greeted, his eyes still locked on the second figure.

"Atemu." Seto replied.

"Kingy, what a pleasant surprise." Said the second with a broad grin.

"Bakura. It's been a while."

Atemu couldn't help but let his eyes graze over the scar under Bakura's right eye. It was shaped like a sideways H and went down the length of the man's face. Bakura's tan skin matched Atemu's, the same exotic like tan, but Bakura's white hair and white scar caused a stark contrast. While Bakura wasn't one of the three heads in the family, he was still a damn important guy. Bakura had run most of the extortion business, earning him the nickname the "Thief King", but this money slipping away in his ranks was a problem.

Bakura was a Capodecina and as such was in charge of 10 soldiers. But now it came down to if it was Bakura himself instructing a button  **2** to pocket the money, or if it was an associate working on his own. Whoever it was, they had one thing for certain: a death wish.

"I figured I'd be talking to you soon. Mai has been snooping around like la fucking pula  **3** . I realize there's money slipping out and it's my responsibility to plug the hole." Bakura's steel blue eyes  **4** stared right into Atemu's crimson, "I can assure you. It hasn't been because of anything I've been starting, and we've been doing some, ah,  _ rearranging _ of my members. Trust me, if any more comes out of the bank, it's not one of ours pulling this shit."

"How can I trust you." It wasn't a question.

"Don't even kid me…" Bakura crossed his arms.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Atemu snipped.

"Look, Pharaoh, you know me. We grew up together. Don't fuck around like this. Or was everything I did for you in Egypt nothing?" Bakura sneered.

Atemu licked his lips at the nickname Pharaoh, Bakura was one of the few allowed to call him that to his face, "Don't even mention that here. That was a long fucking time ago. You know you've changed."

"For the better, I'd like to think. You've given me a family here that I wouldn't have had otherwise if I had been left in that sand-hell-hole."

It was deep for Bakura to say something like that, that Atemu had given him this family, but Atemu could tell he was telling the truth. Crimson eyes broke away from steel and he nodded. The two had grown up together in Egypt, what Bakura said was true. When no one else would watch after them, they watched after each other. Both of their dads were mafia, and it was before Atemu had met Seto in Japan, so Atemu and Bakura had become like brothers almost. They would pull their own stunts, their own crimes, stealing from shops, petty theft… it was something they could do to make themselves feel useful. Then when they were finally old enough, they started working for the boss… but it wasn't long before Atemu had climbed ranks quicker than Bakura… and a long time after that they met back in Japan when Atemu finally had the means to bring Bakura under his wing… but it was all long ago…

"So… what do we do now?" Seto asked breaking the silence.

Atemu's eyes suddenly flashed back to life, "We find the son of a bitch behind this and make sure they can never pull a stunt like this ever again."

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Mai glanced up at the clock, "Hey Yugi, you ready to take a break? You've been studying the seating arrangement for quite a while, have it memorized yet?"

Yugi grinned and nodded, "I think I do actually."

"Where's booth 3—no peaking at the chart!"

"Um, there!" Yugi pointed to the third farthest booth on his side of the wall.

"Table 8?"

Yugi pointed again, Mai smiled, "It's a great start. Now come on, take a load off."

The blonde patted a stool up at the bar next to her. Yugi walked over and slipped onto the stool, sighing as he felt the pressure lift off his feet. Yugi folded his arms across the bar and rested his head on them.

"Want anything to drink?" Mai asked polity and quietly into Yugi's ear.

"Oh! No thank you! W-Would you like me to get you anything?" Yugi sat up straight and was blushing, feeling foolish for being such a burden.

Mai chuckled, "You're sweet, Yugi, really. But I offered, also, I've got my poison."

She smiled holding up a half-emptied glass of ice water and taking another sip through the straw.

"O-Ok." Yugi smiled and leaned back on his arms, looking to the paperwork Mai had laid out in front of her, "What's that? If I can ask?"

Mai nodded, "It's paper work for getting this place looking half way decent. The King actually gave me permission to fix this place up, he's being quite generous too…"

"When was the last time it was 'fixed up'?" Yugi asked.

"When it was built." She glanced over to him, "I don't know why we never got around to it, this is one of the King's favorite restaurants… the location is really nice, right next to the ocean, ya know? And in a busy enough area that we get a good customer flow… he just hasn't been to Domino in so long… I guess keeping it up slipped his mind. But he's put me in charge of the new paints and picking out furniture… it's so tedious."

"Would you want me to try and help?"

Mai blinked, "Sure, hun," She tossed a magazine of furniture in front of him, "Knock yourself out."

Yugi and Mai had sat for quite some time looking through the elaborate decorating magazines and talking about the day-to-day things that happened at the restaurant before Mai's cell went off. Yugi looked at the clock, they were supposed to be open a half hour ago, yet no customers had come to visit, yet.

Mai answered the call and her face grew harsh, she confirmed whatever the other speaker had said and hung up quickly.

"Well Yugi, the boss is coming in today with some visitors." She explained.

"What do I need to do?" He asked dutifully as she flipped the sign from 'open' to 'close'.

"Keep your mouth shut when they come in, unless the King asks you a specific question, and seat the entire party at table 7. I can handle everything else."

Yugi nodded, nervous about what was to come… who were the visitors… did Mai know or was it going to be a surprise to all of them. He quickly scurried to the back of the restaurant, grabbing the black host outfit that Mai described to him, found in one of the drawers in the dressing cabinet in his room. He slipped it on, the pants fit perfect, the shirt was a bit baggy, but after tucking it in, he didn't look half bad. Quickly going to the bathroom to wash his face, Yugi then proceeded to walk back to the front of the restaurant and Mai handed him a dark purple apron.

"Here," She handed him the material and he wrapped it, without protest, around his waist.

Luckily, he had thought, it wasn't one that covered his entire front, just his hips, making it slightly more bearable to wear. He stuffed a pad of paper, a pen and pencil into the pockets of his apron. While he shouldn't need them, Mai thought he'd better have it just in case. He went to stand by the podium at the front doors… nervously awaiting the familiar crimson-eyed Don to walk through at any moment.

When Yugi saw a shadow on the other side of the door, his breath hitched. A whole mafia gang could be walking through at any moment… and the only people around were himself and Mai. True enough, Yugi didn't know that Mai could hold her own in a fight, but Yugi could still feel a chill at the thought of being surrounded by dangerous men.

However, the man to walk through the door looked less than dangerous. Jou's blond hair was messy, his clothes not quite on straight, and he was panting as if he'd just run a good distance.

"Sorry Mai!" He yelled to the back, "I seemed ta' have over slept!"

Mai poked her head over the bar from where she'd been stocking the taps, "I figured as much. You're lucky Seto twists my arm to let you work here."

"Oh please, he'd rather me not work but ya know that just ain't me. I ain't gonna take any hand outs from 'im." Jou said with a cheesy grin, one hand going up to scratch the back of his head.

Jou's smile faded and he turned to Yugi, "Hey, there bud!"

Yugi blinked; apparently Jou was done pouting that Yugi was 'just a kid'. Holding up a hand in greeting, Yugi tried his best to smile, despite still being off guard to the sudden attitude twist. Jou paused when he realized Yugi's confusion.

"Ahh, look," He started, sticking out his hand, "I'm Katsuya Jonouchi! But you can just call me Jou, everybody else does anyway and it's a lot easier ta say."

Yugi gave an honest grin this time, "It's nice to meet you, Jou-san."

"Whoa! Now there's no need 'ta be so formal! Just Jou!"

"Well alright then, just Jou," the two smiled, "I'm Motou Yugi!"

"Nice ta meet ya, Yug'!"

The two shook hands.

"Alright you two, if we're done with the introductions, let's get ready. The boss should be here any moment."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 Herr: Mister (German), I couldn't help having Franz use it.  
> 2 Button, slang, a soldier of the mafia  
> 3 la Pula: shortened form of polizia (police) (Italian, Italian-American)  
> 4 From the few reference pictures, they look more steel blue/grey than anything else… so I'm sorry if this is wrong, but that's what I'm going with.


	6. Death Over Dinner

Jou rushed back towards the kitchens to start up the usual courses; luckily Mai had already started warming the ovens. Yugi learned that Jou was the best chef they'd ever had here, and Mai admitted (privately) to Yugi that she may have been fibbing a bit that Seto twisted her arm… the kid had a talent for making food that she'd never tasted before.

As Yugi resumed feigning causality at the podium near the door, he couldn't help but hear when a car drove awfully close to the front doors (which were near to the sidewalk) and doors opening and shutting. Some low voices were heard, along with some casual sounding chatter. When the doors swung open, Yugi recognized two of the six people standing in front of him.

In front was of course, the King himself, looking stunning in his black suit, and to his right was Seto as usual. But to the King's left was a white haired, tan man with a huge scar that Yugi definitely had not seen before. There were three men behind them that gave Yugi the creeps:

The first man he noticed was short, about his own height, pudgy, bald, and hid his eyes behind small rounded orange glasses. His hands were clasped tightly behind his back, though he could probably seem harmless, the truth was, he gave Yugi goose bumps… as if at any second the man would whip out some sort of torture device…  **1**

The second man was tall and thin, not helplessly thin, more of an athlete's thin, and Yugi couldn't help but admit to himself: extremely good looking. He had fierce green eyes, which were outlined in dark makeup, and his left eye was accented with a thin black line running down his cheek in a way that was anything but trashy. More exotic than anything. He had sleek black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail with his bangs pushed up and out of his face with a red headband checked with black diamonds.

The third man, while not as deformed looking as the first, nor as 'pretty' as the second was the one who scared Yugi the most. He had black, almost blue, hair, which was pulled back into a simple ponytail reaching down to his waist. The man's skin was flawless and dark, only slightly lighter than his hair, and he had the deepest black eyes Yugi had ever seen. It scared him, then, when the man's cold face suddenly broke out into a grin, revealing a row of pearly white teeth,  _ sharp _ looking teeth… almost like a shark finding a good meal.  **2**

Yugi remembered what Mai said: He was the first and last thing people saw when coming into the restaurant… so he smiled at the group approaching.

"Ahh, new meat?" The third man asked, maybe Yugi was right about the shark comparison.

The King gave him a look Yugi couldn't decipher, "Just hired."

Though Yugi could tell something was tense between the two, Yugi kept the smile on his face as he instructed them gently to follow him to their designated table. Yugi turned quickly, six menus in hand, and showed them to a table (number 7) located in about the middle of the room. The six men sat, a polite chuckle every now and again from the King as they talked about seemingly meaningless things. Yugi placed a menu in front of each one of them and started to turn, resisting the urge to run, to the bar where Mai was standing. Before he got even a step however, a cold, hard hand grabbed his wrist. He almost yelped but resisted, turning to look into the black eyes of the third man.

"Say… what's your name?" He asked, Yugi squirmed uncomfortably as the man looked him over.

"His name is Higure." Atemu quickly lied, "And I'd appreciate it if you gave my staff their wrists for further use."

"Higure, huh?" The man said, not letting go, either not paying attention to the King or just not caring, "That hardly fits you! Your smile is brighter than the sun… I'd love to see more of it."

Yugi was scared shitless now, though he couldn't help the blush creeping upon his face. What the was he supposed to do when some mafia guy was hitting on him! This wasn't part of the deal! Yugi's panicked look moved to Atemu who picked up on it.

"We've got business to attend to, if you don't mind letting my staff go,  _ now _ , Zorc." Crimson eyes flashed to blood red for a moment, if it wasn't just Yugi's imagination or adrenaline.

_ Zorc _ ? What the hell kind of a name was Zorc….

Yugi let out a tension in his shoulders and a breath he didn't know he was holding when the ice-cold grip released his wrist.

"So touchy, Atemu."

Atemu?

"Higure, you can go now." Atemu said flatly, now not hiding his displeasure with the man named Zorc.

Yugi nodded and not missing the opportunity, made a beeline back towards the bar. Shuffling behind it and towards the doors to the kitchen. Mai touched Yugi's hand as he passed, a welcomed warm and soft change from

Zorc's cold and hard hand.

"Listen hun, you stay back in the kitchens for now. I can handle their order." Mai whispered.

Yugi nodded, still too shaken from Zorc to trust his voice, and thankful for Mai's interjection.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Yugi had slipped behind the bar and into the kitchens, Atemu watching carefully as if his eyes left the shorter boy he'd get into some  _ other _ kind of trouble. Made Atemu was mad taking this kid into his care… after all, if Zorc paid him any attention, Atemu could hardly block his attempts for long without either claiming Yugi as his own or starting a war… neither of which he could do, and neither that would much phase Zorc.

The six men sat at the table, a sort of hush had befallen the three members of the Three Kings, but the three opposite them seemed just as relaxed as ever.

"So Atemu," Atemu flinched at Zorc using his name so casually,  _ friendly _ almost, "You have to tell… what  _ is _ the occasion… you calling us all out like this."

"Our operation has been having troubles."

The short bald one let out a laugh, Atemu let his crimson gaze meet the man's bright orange sunglasses, "Something funny Gebelk?"

The man only shook his head.

"These wouldn't happen to be financial troubles, would they?" Zorc chirped.

Atemu quirked an eye brow, "How did you know?"

Zorc's shark-like smile slipped onto his face, "Call it a hunch."

There was a pause, "I take it you haven't tracked who's responsible for it?"

This time the question was from the green-eyed man, Ryuji Otogi.

"No." Came Bakura's response.

"And so you need our help?"

"Hardly." Seto stated, "What we need is to make sure you're not behind it. Because if you are—"

Atemu placed a hand on Seto's shoulder, signaling him that was quite enough, and looked back directly into Zorc's eyes, "What Seto is saying is that we're going to catch who's behind it… and if they happen to be an acquaintance, then any truce will be severely and immediately broken."

Zorc's face, smile now gone, turned to a look like stone, "Understandable."

Another pause, Mai approached the table, "Anything you need boss?"

Atemu shook his head, "No. I think we're quite done here."

The party stood to leave towards the doors, but Zorc stopped Atemu before they exited, "You know, that host of yours, he's quite attractive."

Atemu looked up from putting on his suit jacket, "Why do you think I need to know you think this?"

"Well, how about we make a deal? I'm sure I could help you through your financial situation if you, ah— _ lend _ , me that kid for a while." Zorc's smile make the Don want to vomit.

Atemu paused, though he had his suspicions on Zorc's role in the missing money, he didn't want to start a war because he denied some spoiled brat a play thing. But the thought of letting Yugi go anywhere with this trash made him sick to his stomach. When Atemu glanced over to Seto and Bakura he could tell they thought the same thing.

"Sorry. He's not mine to lend out."

"Sure he is! What's he got, a debt to pay? That's usually why they work here."

"Not to be rude, but it's none of your business why he's here."

"Touchy, touchy." Zorc repeated, "I was just wondering…"

Atemu didn't say anything more as he walked towards the doors, slipping on his sunglasses.

That's when the shot rang out. The volume made Atemu's head buzz and he hit the ground fast and hard, he couldn't tell if he'd been shot. The adrenaline was pumping, and he pulled out his own gun from his waist band.

A body lay a few feet away, blood seeping from it's chest, still convulsing.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Yugi had scurried right back into the kitchens and saw Jou working over a pot of some sort of soup. He relaxed, feeling all the tension from the incident with the guy named Zorc fade away. His body shimmied past Jou and looked into the pot as he went.

"What are you making, Jou?" He asked looking into the brown liquid.

"Italian Wedding Soup!" The blonde answered, "One of 'ta favs around here, ya know! Gotta have it ready first or else I'd be shit outta luck when the crowds come in."

Jou saw the way Yugi flinched at his swear and gave the shorter boy a sheepish grin, "Sorry Yug', I'm so used to ta guys around here swearin' like sailors 'an all…"

"Oh! Don't mind me! I'm just not used to it yet, I guess." Yugi explained.

"Well don' worry bud, I'll try 'ta keep it at a minimum around ya."

"Thanks Jou," Yugi smiled, "You're a really nice guy."

Jou laughed, "Thanks! I don't think ya'd be saying that if ya knew me a few years ago though."

Yugi cocked his head to the side, "Why's that?"

"Well, I used ta be quite the bully, and ya already know I got ties with this place so I ain't a saint or nothin'" Jou smirked.

"You don't have to be a saint to be a nice guy." Yugi commented, "Everybody has a past… it just depends on who you are right now."

Jou thought this over for a minute, "Ya know, you're right. Thanks Yug'"

"For what?"

Jou flashed a big grin, "For bein' a pal."

Yugi blushed. He really hadn't had any close guy friends in a while… it was nice. He thought about the guys he knew at his school, there was Honda… but that was pretty much it… and he wouldn't call him a friend either. Just an acquaintance. What did he  _ do  _ before coming here? As Yugi thought it over he got more and more sure that the only thing in his life before the  _ incident _ was trying to get Anzu's attention…

"So what's Mai got ya doing around here?" Jou's voice interrupted Yugi's thoughts.

"Huh? Oh! Uh, well she's got me working as the host right now, as you saw, but I don't know what else she's going to want me to do."

"If she asks you to stock, say no."

"Why?"

"Just trust me on this one," Jou laughed, "It took me years to figured out her crazy system. Just let me handle it."

The blond winked and Yugi grinned. This could be quite the friendship…

They heard the shot. Yugi jumped, Jou as well, but not nearly as high, Yugi looked to Jou, paniced.

"W-was th-that a gu-un shot?" He asked shakily.

Jou suddenly supplied a pistol from the folds of his clothing, "I'm not sure, but stay close."

Yugi shuffled behind Jou as they approached the bar doors. Mai burst through, pistol drawn.

"Jou! Get Yugi to the back room now! Stay there until I come get you!"

Jou nodded and immediately grabbed Yugi's arm and dragged him off.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Mai burst back through the kitchen's doors to see the two surviving members of Zorc's crew driving away. The third laying in a puddle of blood.

"What the fuck happened?" Atemu bellowed.

Mai spoke up, "This asshole," She kicked the body of Gebelk, "Pulled his fucking gun on you. I got to him first. Had mine ready to go since these cock-suckers walked through the door. Untrustworthy bastards."

Atemu walked over to Mai and hugged her tightly, "Thank you, Mai."

Mai hugged back before pushing him off, "Yeah you owe me big time."

Atemu didn't miss the playful glint in her eye and he chuckled, "Well, I guess this means we gotta close up shop here for a while."

"Seriously?" Seto said, his voice rugged from adrenaline.

"Yes. Seriously. You know Zorc will be back." Atemu said flatly.

"Yeah, probably with gasoline and a match." Bakura spat, wiping a little blood leaking from the cut on his lip.

Seto growled, "So where the fuck do we go? At least we know these are the assholes behind it."

"Yeah, we know that, but it doesn't get us very far, we still have to update our security… how the  _ fuck _ did they get past it?" Atemu swore, mostly to himself.

"Don't ask me." Bakura mused, "Maybe Zorc's hired somebody who used to work for us.

"Bullshit." Seto commented, "I hardly think one of the guys who used to work for us would be able to walk five feet before having their head blown off if they betrayed us."

"Well it's a thought," Atemu guarded, "And certainly a start. But…"

Seto looked at him, "I know that look… what are you thinking?"

"I think I need some extra help."

Bakura stopped mid-step, "No way."

"Yes. Way. We're going to Egypt."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 Incase the description doesn't give it away OR you haven't read far enough into the manga/watched the series far enough, this is Hobson, however I'm calling him by his ancient Egyptian name Gelbelk. He freaks me out. He used to be in charge of the dungeons, hence the torture device reference, and hence why he doesn't last very long in this chapter.  
> 2 The first black guy probably ever mentioned in a YGO fanfiction and I make him the bad guy. Wow I suck. Sorry Ebony… :P


	7. To Egypt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yugi worries and Atemu comforts; mafia wealth is flaunted in the form of a private jet; Yugi eats breakfast with Bakura, Marik and Malik; Bakura and Malik duel (without cards!);

Yugi's hands were shaking badly as he stood with Jou in a dimly lit room waiting for Mai to come pull them out. He still couldn't forget the look on her face, wild almost, with her pistol drawn and hair awry. That gun shot… had it hit someone? Was everyone OK?

' _ Is Atemu OK?' _ He found himself thinking over and over… telling himself he only cared so much because he didn't know the white haired guy, Seto didn't seem like the kind of guy to die in a gun fight, and Mai seemed alright besides the adrenaline rush… so where was Atemu…

"H-Hey Jou? Do you think it's over yet?" Yugi asked, he couldn't hide the concern in his voice.

"I dun know, Yug'… but we gotta stay put until Mai comes ta get us. I imagine she's worried about ya."

"Yeah I mean, they think I know something that could help out the enemies, right?"

Jou laughed and gave Yugi a wink, "Well yeah, and I think she's got a soft spot for ya!"

Yugi's tell-tale blush crept up once more. He felt happy knowing that. Some how, Mai was like the mother Yugi didn't have…  **1**

Jou had sat his pistol down near the door and relaxed. He had explained to Yugi that this room they were in could survive very well anything. Guns, fires, rocket launchers,  probably . But he had his doubts on whether it could handle a nuclear bomb or not. Yugi supposed this was to comfort him that they were safe… but he still wasn't concerned for his own safety…

There was a knock at the door and Jou had his gun back in hand in a second. Standing close to the frame, he called out for the knocker to identify themselves.

Mai's shaken voice came back through the frame, "It's me."

"Password."

"Jou, just open the damn door."

"Hey! What the hell is the point of having a freakin' password if we're never gonna use it?"

"Fine," She muttered something under her breath and then, "Dakota."

"Thank you." Jou swung the door open.

Mai stood there and held up a weak hand in a wave, "Hey guys. Bakura and Atemu are cleaning up."

"Great. What happened?"

Mai started leading them back through the living quarters and towards the front of the shop as she explained:

"Well, that asshole Zorc was trying to get Atemu to… well, to do something he didn't seem to want to do. The spoiled jerk must have been fed up with things not going his way and he gave that fat little—ugh…" Mai seemed to be trying to contain herself, "He gave the creep some sort of signal and Gelbelk pulled out his gun. I was faster. Right now his body is being moved."

Yugi froze, "B-body?"

The two turned to look at Yugi's quickly whitening face, "Uh, yeah… maybe you should hang back Yugi. I'll come get you in a second."

Yugi watched as the two headed towards the front of the restaurant, he heard talking and then something  _ dragging _ … it was enough to make him need to sit down. He backtracked towards his room, shutting the door part way, and sitting on the bed.

He heard some commotion, but didn't move. The dragging sound came into the living area and out the back door. He thought he heard Seto's voice saying something about how it was a 'good thing the carpet was colored red'. There was a knock at his door and he let out a weak 'Come in'. Not that he thought anyone around here needed his permission…

"How are you feeling?" The deep voice asked.

Yugi looked up to see Atemu's crimson eyes studying his face. He wondered if he looked as sick as he felt.

"I've been better." Yugi said plainly.

Atemu sighed, "I'm sorry you had to be here when it happened. Zorc's an asshole and I didn't want to have a meeting with him but it was necessary. And at least now we know he's behind our current issues, somehow."

There was a moment of silence…

"Are you OK?" The words were out of Yugi's mouth before he could stop them.

Atemu's eyes softened and he laughed a little, "Yes, I'm OK. Thanks to Mai."

"Right."

Atemu's gaze shifted to look outside the window of Yugi's room.

"This is part of my life, Yugi. I'm not proud of it. But things like this have happened before. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still feeling the adrenaline rush of almost being shot… as twisted as that probably sounds, but it's just life here." The Don explained.

"Sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Atemu asked honestly

When Yugi didn't answer, Atemu went to stand directly in front of him, "Look at me."

Amethyst eyes looked up into Crimson. Atemu put his hands on Yugi's shoulders and bent at his knees to come face to face with the smaller boy.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. This isn't where you belong. And as soon as this blows over I'll let you go back to your Grandpa… but for now, I'm sorry, I have to keep an eye on you. Not because we don't trust you, but because Zorc is a lot less friendly than we are."

"I've noticed…" Yugi said with a tired grin.

"Well, then I have a question."

Yugi's mind suddenly flew, a question? What kind of question?

"Y-yeah?" Yugi was suddenly aware of how close his face was to Atemu's.

"Do you… have a passport?"

If Yugi was an anime character he imagined he would have fallen straight to the floor, face planted securely into the carpet.

"Uh… ha, no…" Yugi replied.

"Hmm… well that's going to be an issue… but easily fixed." Atemu commented.

"Wait am I going somewhere?" Yugi asked as Atemu made his way to the door.

"We all are, Yugi. To Egypt."

"Egypt?"

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Yugi had only been on a plane once before, going to Tokyo with his grandpa who had wanted to see the touring Ancient Egyptian exhibit at the Tokyo National Museum… but this was nothing like the plane he had been on before.

For one thing, it was about twice as big, for another thing, it had about fifty people attending to their individual beck and call. Caviar? You got it. Wine? Champagne? Sprite? Name your poison. They'll serve it.

The Boeing 747-8 VIP was like an office building in the sky. Conference rooms, bedrooms, full bathrooms! The pilot took the time to show Yugi around, but Yugi still thought he'd get lost walking around on it. It could seat almost 500 people… Yugi wondered if this was a bit overkill.  **2**

They had taken off smoothly and were in the air. Looking out a window, Yugi suddenly felt very small…

A hand tapped his shoulder. He turned around to see Atemu handing him something.

"What's this?" He asked, taking the small booklet.

"A passport. You'll need it when we land." The crimson–eyed youth explained.

Yugi flipped it open, it had his information except… "Hikari?"

Atemu smiled, "I hope you don't mind too much. I figured you would be safer if your name was changed."

"Why Hikari though?"

"Well, Zorc knows the name Higure now. We'll use Hikari while in Egypt."

"What about my Grandpa?" Yugi said starting to feel like this was far too much.

"He's safe, Yugi. I promise you. He's got someone watching him at all times and I made sure to send someone in to work with him in the shop. He didn't like it at first but he's happier now that someone else is doing the harder work."

"It should be me helping." Yugi mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Yugi turned to look back out the window, he was suddenly extremely homesick even though it'd only been two days since they left Domino and only a few hours since they left the airport at Tokyo.

"Look, Yugi… I assure this will be over soon." Atemu reached out and placed one of his hands on the boy's shoulder, "Just hang in there. If you'd like, Jou was talking about playing a game on the upper deck?"

Yugi couldn't help it, his mood lifted with the word game.

"What kind of game?"

"I think it was called Reversi?"  **3**

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Yugi had beaten Jou in their fifth game of Reversi when Jou finally said he was going to bed. Seto, Atemu and Mai had stuck around to watch the last couple rounds but Bakura, Marik and Malik had left as soon as the talk of board games were discussed.

With the thought of bed, Yugi found himself becoming quite exhausted. Today had been a trial.

"It's been quite a day for you." Atemu's voice interrupted.

Yugi spun around to face him, "Can you read thoughts or something?

Atemu laughed, "What do you think I am? Some sort of super human?"  **4**

Yugi blushed, "Well, I was just thinking about how tired everything made me today."

"Yes. I don't doubt that. Do you remember where your room is?" Atemu asked lightly.

"I-I think so. It's hard to say since this place is like a hotel on wings." Yugi stated bluntly.

"Quite," Atemu smirked, "Well allow me to help you out."

Atemu led Yugi towards the top level of the plane and showed him his "skylight" room. It was actually really quite a step up from his room at the back of the restaurant. He had his own TV, recliner, and bed which was placed against three windows. Yugi was excited to climb under the sheets and drift off… but after bidding Atemu a goodnight and settling down, he found his mind plagued with a dragging sound…

**OMGADREAMSEQUENCE**

_ Yugi ran away from the sound, but it seemed like no matter how hard or fast he ran, the sound was only feet behind him. _

' _ Shhhhhshhhhhshhhh' _

_ The dragging sound got closer, and closer. _

_ Yugi turned a corner, this place was like a maze, stair cases going off in every direction: sideways, left, right, upside down, up… he ran up a staircase and found himself in another long hallway. Running, the dragging sound was behind him. _

_ The boy threw himself into one of the rooms and locked the door behind himself, but the dragging sound was just outside in the hallway. And now, it was scratching at the door. _

' _ Shhhhshhhshhhhhhhhkkkk' _

_ The door knob turned… _

**KDREAMSEQUENCEISOVERNOW**

Yugi bolted straight up in his bed, sweat running down his face. He balled his hands into fists, trying to get them to stop shaking.

'It was just a dream…' He reassured himself.

But no matter how many times he repeated it to himself, the shaking didn't stop. Yugi swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up to stretch. He looked out the windows and saw it was light outside… but he didn't know what time it was. He imagined they must be over China still  **5** .Dressing himself, since he wasn't sure he wanted to walk around the plane in his pajamas, he decided to look for something to eat.

Yugi came out of his room and walked down the hallway, not really paying attention to where he was going so much as the things on the walls or the way the ceiling looked. When he turned another corner he bumped right into another figure.

"Watch where you're going, kid." Came Bakura's gruff voice, clearly having just woke up as well, his hair in disarray.

Yugi muted a giggle that was threatening to slip out, "Good morning, Bakura."

"Hardly!" Bakura scoffed, "Freakin' jet lag is going to suck more than anything once we land."

"I-I wouldn't know," Yugi said truthfully.

"Well let me tell you, it's not the best thing about traveling." The white haired boy looked down, "What are you doing up anyway?"

"I was having trouble sleeping, so I thought I'd look for some food." Yugi explained.

"Ah. Well…. Uh, I was going to meet Marik and Malik if you wanted to join us, I suppose."

Yugi, not really wanting to seem rude but not exactly wanting to be in a room with three people he barely knew had little choice and agreed to go with him. Yugi followed closely behind Bakura, whose legs were quite a big longer than his own, and was astonished when he saw the dining room (something that he and the pilot hadn't entered on his tour). He stood at the top of a spiral staircase leading down one flight to a large round banquet table, lined with crystal goblets and fancy China plates. There was a couch surrounding the table, almost like a booth, and a few chairs, occupied by two blondes…

"Oi," Bakura called down, starting to descend the stairs.

"Oh hey Bakura," Marik said looking up, "Hm… brought the Pharaoh's pet have you?"

"Can it. And you better not let him catch you calling him that."

"Why? You call him Pharaoh all the time…" Marik whined.

"Because it's me calling him it."

"Ah, so you're jealous when I use your pet name?"

"Shut up before I feed you your intestines for your breakfast."

"Touchy." Malik commented.

"You too."

"So you mean I shouldn't tell the Pharaoh's pet your theory on how he's still alive because you think the big bad King has a soft spot for him?"

Yugi's eyes widened.

"I'm going to kill you Malik." Bakura looked over to Yugi, "Don't take him seriously. Besides… our idea of love is your idea of a good shag."

Yugi couldn't even speak, Marik laughed and Malik began to speak again.

"Well, now that we've sufficiently scared him… how about we actually eat. Nice of you to join us, fluffy."

"That's it Florence  **6** , you're fucking dead."

"I'd like to see you try and kill me!"

Yugi's eyes widened (even more if possible), as Malik grabbed his butter knife and jumped up on the table, shouting a quick 'En Garde!' and jumping towards Bakura. Bakura simply side stepped and stuck a leg out, sending Malik flailing to regain his balance. The wild looking Egyptian got his stance back and darted at Bakura again, no tactic in his moves, just determination. Bakura once again dodged, seemingly without effort, Malik's attack and grabbed his long purple cloak, choking him back.

"Nice try."

"Ahh fluffy… we'll never get a sense of humor out of you will we?" Malik asked with feigned interest.

Bakura sneered and let go of Malik's cloak. Yugi still stood there, wide eyed, watching as the two walked back towards the table and sat down as if nothing had happened.

"Oi, you gonna eat something, kid?" Bakura asked giving Yugi a funny look.

"Y-yeah sure." Yugi said giving his best 'Not-judging-you' smile.

He sat down at the table and picked out an orange from a bowl centered in front of him. As he started to peel the fruit, Marik looked over to him.

"So squirt," Marik started, "What  _ did _ you do to get in this predicament? Kingy wouldn't tell us."

"I, uh, over heard them talking in the ally's by the warehouses."

Malik laughed, his laugh made Yugi shudder, "What were you doing there at that time of night?"

"Well, I had gone to this party and just wanted to get home as soon as possible, so I took a short cut."

Bakura laughed, "Sorry kid, I don't imagine you as the party type."

Yugi blushed, "I suppose I'm not really."

Marik smiled, "Don't worry, Fluffy is just jealous because he never gets invited to parties."

"I'll fucking kill you."

"I know Fluffy."

Yugi genuinely smiled, these guys were a little psycho… but they meant well. The four ate, Yugi mostly in silence, but laughing occasionally as the other three darker skinned ones chatted away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 no idea as to whether or not this is canon, just figured it fits my needs, so please don't hate me, k tnx  
> 2 Seriously. Look up this plane: Boeing 747-8 VIP (or International). It's crazy. And costs about $270 MILLION, not including paying the staff/crew and maintenance (most likely another $20 mil).  
> 3 Personally I am beginning to think Reversi is the devil's game… I'm bad at it, but it's super addicting, so I keep playing, and usually lose. It would probably help if I started playing against a level that wasn't set on expert but I don't feel accomplished if I play against an easy level… anyway, google it if you don't want to have a life for a few hours…  
> 4 at first I was going to put a bad joke here revolving around Twilight but I refrained…  
> 5 This is my guess… I really couldn't find much information on private jet routes nor how many stops/hours it would take to get from a Tokyo airport to a Cairo airport… so please deal with my guesses T.T  
> 6 Fluffy is the best name for Bakura, and Florence is such a better name for Yami Marik (Malik) anyway… thanks LK xD !


	8. Streets of Egypt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skimming back over this story as I write there are parts that make me absolutely cringe but I hope you are enjoying!

Atemu woke to a soft knock at his door. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, the King stood and gracefully floated to open the door. Seto stood before him, arms crossed.

"You said you wanted to see me first thing in the morning."

Atemu nodded and let out a yawn, motioning Seto to enter and then promptly sitting back down on his bed. The brunette shut the door behind himself as he entered, sighing.

"So what is it."

"I had a sort of favor to ask of you." Atemu began.

"Oh really. Fantastic. What did you need this time?"

A sigh, "Look it's a favor not an order."

Seto was quite for a moment, "Go on then."

"I just wanted to ask if… something were to happen to me… if you could possibly get Yugi and his grandfather out of any danger."

"One, nothing is going to happen to you. Two, they're hardly any of my concern… but since it seems to be a problem for you, sure, I'll be certain that they're out of here if the shit hits the fan. Honestly, though, you're turning soft."

Atemu glared crimson at him, "Don't let me hear you say that to anyone else."

Seto smirked, "Of course not your majesty. Wouldn't want our adversities to know that the great King has lost his sense over a pipsqueak."

Atemu sighed and flopped back against the bed, "Seto… what's it like, with Jou, for you?"

Seto shot him a look, "Alright, you've got to be  shitting me now. I'm not talking about my feelings with you."

Atemu glared at him from his reclined position upon the bed, "I'm not asking you to be all lovey-dovey, asshole, as if  _ you _ could be such a thing, I just want to know how you… knew…"

Atemu didn't mind talking to Seto about these things… Seto was his cousin and so also knew that Atemu, from a very young age, liked boys and girls. However, he'd always been reluctant to pursue anyone (though he had been pursued himself by boys and girls multiple times)… but Yugi was different… there was something about the boy that Atemu just wanted to be around at all times. Yugi was like a spark of light, of something hopeful, a light in his dark life. Maybe it was just the reminder that there was a normal life outside of the mafia…

"I just knew…" Seto growled and leaned up against the wall, "I just did."

"Some help you are, cousin."

"Yeah the epitome of it." Came a bored voice.

"Bakura if you tell me you've been standing there for longer than five nanoseconds, I'll kill you." Atemu threatened.

"Then I won't tell you how long I've been standing here." Bakura said snidely, stepping from the doorway.

"What did you need." Atemu was up again pulling out clothes for the day, obviously going back to sleep was not going to be an option.

"I wanted to let you know that Seto's little device was going off, we might have a lead on where Zorc will be hiding…"

"Seto." Atemu didn't have to finish, the brunette was out of the room and going to track the signal without further orders.

"You're welcome?" Bakura said with a shrug, "By the way, the short one is asking about you."

Atemu did his best to feign disinterest, "Short one? You mean Yugi?"

"Yeah. We've all been awake for quite a while you know, he even ate breakfast with us."

Atemu had to stop himself from taking his palm and planting it square on his face, "I'm assuming by 'us' you mean Marik, Malik and yourself?"

"Who else." Bakura said with a grin.

"I hope you didn't scar him too badly."

"So far there's no evident damage."

"How comforting."

"Look, he just wanted to know why you were dragging us out to Egypt of all places, so you might want to think of a good explanation."

"Yeah, right." Atemu muttered, looking out the window in indifference.

Bakura blinked, "You weren't honestly going to tell him the truth were you?"

Atemu looked up at Bakura and sighed, "It's easier than making up a dumb lie and having to put on a good show in front of him to keep it a secret. Besides, he's going to have to talk to her. If she goes into one of her visions in front of him then we'll have to make up another lie to cover up the first one… lies always become a vicious circle and I don't want to be a part of that. Not with him."

"You think too much." Bakura said flatly and walked out of the room.

Atemu clenched his jaw and continued to pick out his clothes for the day. Leather with leather. Pretty much all his casual clothes were leather. The suits got tiresome, but they were the best choice for business. On the plane, he didn't think he'd get much lip about wearing non-formal attire. At least, if he did get lip, he could push whoever was giving him said lip out any conveniently close-by window and/or door.

Finishing up the clasps on his shirt, he headed out into the plane's hallway, heading towards the dining room since he imagined everyone would be conjugating there. He walked down the small hall, not paying too much attention to where he was going, still in a daze from waking up too early in his personal opinion, when he finally stumbled into the dining area.

Four heads of hair sat around the table, one wild and white, one tricolored and spiky, and two blonde mops. He let out a casual greeting and sat down.

"About time you showed up," Marik complained, "Bakura said he'd have to resort to more drastic methods to wake you?"

"So did he?" Malik asked, "Any tongue action?"

Atemu shot him a look and the duo laughed. Atemu looked over to the younger boy across from him.

"Good morning," Yugi's smile made the blood in his body rush directly to his face.

"Hi." Atemu said dumbly, and grabbed a piece of toast to shove in his mouth before he said anything more stupid.

Atemu sat mentally cussing himself out as the two Egyptian blondes bugged Yugi to spill the beans on his life and the white haired one just sat unimpressed. Atemu could have been a little more cool than just saying 'hi'. For God's sake he could have at least asked the boy how he slept or  _ something _ …

"So what's life like at this game shop?" Marik pressed.

"Pretty… pretty boring actually." Yugi laughed nervously, obviously not used to being in the spot light. "Um, I mean, I just help Grandpa stock and stuff, it's not like I run it or anything yet."

"Do you want to run it one day?" The Egyptian continued his interrogation of the smaller boy.

"Maybe. I guess. I never really thought of doing anything else with my life." Yugi said honestly.

"But you're good at games right, don't you do tournaments?" Malik asked.

"Yeah, I do."

Atemu's head popped up for a second, Yugi was blushing and it was adorable. So adorable that Atemu forgot not to inhale while chewing and ended up starting to choke on the bread in his mouth. Four pairs of eyes turned towards him as he coughed.

' _ Real smooth' _ He thought while pounding his chest trying to get the bread to go down.

A firm 'thwunk!' on his back sent the chunk of carbohydrate rocketing down into his stomach and Atemu looked up to see Seto standing behind him.

"We've got news, grace."

Atemu glared at him, not sure whether to retort him for making fun of him after choking or thank him for helping Atemu to stop from dying in the first place. Atemu quickly excused himself from the table and followed Seto out into the hallway, but not before grabbing something safer to eat… like yogurt.

Marik, Malik, Bakura and Yugi sat at the table, Yugi looking sheepishly down on his place at the table. He wondered if maybe, Atemu had started choking because he was laughing at him. Yugi knew it was silly and stupid and something a teenaged girl would think but he started to imagine Atemu was avoiding him for some reason.  **1**

Marik and Malik were arguing about something when Yugi finally decided he would walk about the plane a bit longer and maybe head back to his room to read after. Yugi slipped out of the room using the lower level exit and found himself in the lobby type area they had played games in the other night.

A familiar mop of blonde hair was sprawled out along one of the chairs, a laptop in hand, barely noticing Yugi's entrance.

"Hey, Jou." Yugi greeted with his usual smile.

"Oh! Hey there Yug' !" Jou returned the smile, but as if he'd known Yugi all his life he could tell something was off, "What's on yer mind?"

Jou shut the lap top and placed it on a table, gesturing to another seat near Jou's own, "Ya did eat right? Ya gotta eat ya know."

"Yeah I ate." Yugi assured, "Why?"

Jou blinked, "Why do ya gotta eat? That's a silly question—"

"No I mean, why do you ask if I ate?" Yugi said with a bit of a laugh.

Jou paused, "Well ya look like ya might be sick or sometin'… I don't know. Listen, it ain't none of my business but if ya got a problem, you could always let me know."

Yugi smiled, Jou was really a nice guy underneath the tough "Brooklyn-Gangster" side.

"Thanks Jou, I appreciate it, but it's really a stupid problem."

"Don't say that! Any problem ya got isn't stupid, trust me!" Jou assured.

"Well… I just…" Yugi was hesitant, he still thought it was his own stupid mind acting up and not a real problem that he needed to voice to anyone else.

"Hey bud, ya don't need to tell me anything you don't want ta' tell me!" Jou interjected.

Yugi smiled, "I know, but you're a good guy Jou and I don't think you'd take it the wrong way. Bakura, Marik and Malik… they're nice but they can't seem to keep much to themselves…"

"I know what'cha mean!" Jou said thumping his hand on the arm-rest of his chair, "I told them sometin' once and I ain't never gonna make that mistake again!"

"I figured as much," Yugi's smile still held it's place diligently on his face, but Jou noticed it slip faintly at another thought passing through his head.

"Seriously, Yug', ya look like yer really thinkin' over something…"

"It's Atemu." Yugi said flatly, "I think he doesn't like me."

Jou coughed on his own spit hearing those words, "Are you kidding me?"

Yugi looked up, shock clearly written on his face, "What do you mean?"

"I don't mean 'ta be, ya know, too blunt or anything… but the way he looks at you? And your worried he don't like ya?" Jou laughed, "Are you blind?"

Yugi's face went fire engine red before he stuttered out, "But it feels like h-he avoids me and really I've just been a pain since I arrived. H-he's a big shot mafia don and I'm just a dumb kid that's in the way."

Jou laughed and reclined once more in the chair, "Trust me, Yug'. I've been around this guy long enough… and he's Seto's cousin after all… you aren't just a 'dumb kid' ta him. Atemu's a tough guy really, but he becomes a big softie around ya. And he shows a side of himself I don't usually see unless he's around Seto… ya know, family.

"But for one, I've never seen someone who accidentally walked into a mafia meeting treated with anything but malice and here you are on a first class trip to Egypt! Granted it's because ya might have gotten hit on by Atemu's rival but  _ man _ ! Oh and about that! Didn't ya see the way he flinched when Seto was explain' ta me about how Zorc had the hots for ya?"

Yugi's face was a mix between being happy that Jou said Atemu didn't mind him and disgust of remembering Zorc, "Please don't mention him, Jou."

"Oh yeah, sorry." Jou rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "You're cute Yug', Atemu isn't blind."

"Cute?" Yugi looked up and about face-palmed at the word, just what he wanted to be… cute.

"Aww come on, it's not that bad." Jou laughed.

"Easy for you to say," Yugi mumbled.

"Look, you're plenty attractive so just don't worry about if Atemu likes ya—"

"Woah, woah, woah… don't take this as me trying to… trying to umm…" Yugi struggled for the word.

"Get into Atemu's pant's?" Jou filled in.

Yugi gagged, "Well! Yes! I'm not… trying to get into anyone's pants!"

Jou let out another hardy laugh and stood, picking up his laptop in the process and placing a friendly hand on Yugi's shoulder, "Honestly Yug'… yer too easy for me to read…"

Jou shot Yugi a wink and Yugi about died… Jou knew Yugi had a little crush on Atemu… even if Yugi wasn't ready to admit it out loud yet.

But Yugi paused. Why did Yugi liked Atemu? Sure he was incredibly hot… that was pretty obvious. But Yugi felt like there was something hidden that he hadn't uncovered about Atemu yet… would he still like him after he knew his secrets?

Yugi already knew Atemu was fiercely loyal to the people he loved… and he admired that. Yugi also noticed that he was a very deep thinker… where as Yugi tended to just day-dream… Atemu was dark… but sometimes the dark is necessary… Just like winter.

Without winter, the trees wouldn't have a chance to rejuvenate. Sure, it's dark and cold during winter… but spring comes after and melts away the snow… and brings new life…

"Hey Yug!" Jou said, waking Yugi out of a mid-daydream, "You owe me a rematch at Reversi!"

Yugi laughed, feeling a whole lot better knowing what Jou had told him about Atemu, "Alright! But just remember this time: you asked for it!"

**IVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

"This doesn't add up." Atemu said looking at the information Seto was showing him on the screen.

"Exactly." Commented the brunette, "Zorc knows we're tracking him and trying to send us on a wild goose chase."

Atemu growled, "Then we're just going to have to track him better than he can hide."

"I'm working on it." Seto commented giving Atemu a look, "Did something happen to piss you off this badly?"

"You mean besides loosing our track on Zorc?"

"Yes, besides loosing the trace on the weirdo."

Atemu looked at Seto and let his face soften, "I just made an idiot out of myself is all."

"Oh, so nothing new."

"Fuck you." Atemu said noticing the smirk on Seto's face.

"You're such a poet, 'Temmy. Words like that will win over Yugi's heart in an instant."

Atemu was on the point of reaching out and strangling Seto but a voice on the intercom stopped him, "We will be arriving to Cairo, Egypt, in approximately one hour. Please be in the designated seats within fourty minutes."

"You're so lucky I don't kill you in your sleep." Atemu said before walking towards the exit, "And if you ever call me _that_ _name_ again, I swear to God I'll buy a country, fill it with snakes and strand you there." **2**

"Hallow words, cousin, I know you wouldn't do such a thing to family." Seto smirked.

"But if I find the gall you'll be the first to find out,  _ cousin _ ." Atemu shot back.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Yugi and Jou looked up from their fifth game, so far Yugi had won every game, as the intercom announced they were approaching their destination.

"Sounds like I better get my things together." Yugi said softly starting to pick up the game pieces and place them into a bag.

"Aw right! Crap! My room's a total mess!" Jou said running a hang through his hair.

Yugi smiled, "Need help?"

"Nah, nah! Ya gotta deal with your own stuff… but ah… if ya get done early…" Jou helped Yugi put the last few pieces of the Reversi game into a small bag.

"I'll drop by before I go to my seat and make sure you're packed too!" Yugi said with a smile and tucked the game board under his arm.

"Thanks Yug', you're a lifesaver, really!" Jou smiled, waved, and took off towards his own room.

Yugi smiled, Jou was a nice guy… now he just had to find his own room again. Yugi sighed and blushed remembering needing Atemu's assistance to find his room last night and thought it too bad that the taller wasn't around again to help out. Putting on a brave face, Yugi decided to give it his best shot to find his room on his own. How big could a plane be anyway… If he just found the hall way…

Yugi marched up a set of stairs and recognized one of the paintings, smiling, he started towards a hallway. Rounding the corner, he halted.

"Wait this isn't the right one," Yugi thought aloud and made a quick spin to turn back around when he went smack dab into a broad chest sending Reversi game pieces all over the floor.

"Crap!" Yugi squeaked thinking about how long it was going to take to pick up all the pieces, "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have spun around like that! I—"

"It's fine, Yugi, and I'll help clean up, I should have known you'd figure out this was the wrong hallway once you took a few steps down it, I just turned the corner to tell you..." Atemu's smooth voice explained as he knelt down to pick up the black and white game pieces.

Yugi's voice caught in his throat at his realization that Atemu was the one he just bumped into… making him feel even more like an idiot. Remembering Jou's words, Yugi blushed, which might as well have been permanent at this point, and he mimicked Atemu, kneeling down to pick up the piece and stuff them in the little black bag.

"I was so sure this was the hallway…" Yugi pouted.

Atemu chuckled, the sound sent shivers down Yugi's spine, "You were one off." The elder explained, "It's just the next hall over."

"A-Ah… I see…" Yugi gulped. "Atemu, thanks for looking out for me."

Yugi blurted it out before thinking it through and when the two looked up from their crouched positions picking up the Reversi pieces, their eyes met, only inches apart…

"It's not a problem…" Atemu said softly, his voice was more husky than it had been five seconds ago…

The two were incredibly aware of the other. Yugi could barely breathe with Atemu's crimson eyes so close to his amethyst… for a split second, daydreaming about Atemu just pulling him into those arms… all it would take is to close the small gap… and Atemu wanted nothing more than to close said gap between them to finally find out just how soft those petal lips Yugi had were… to taste him…

Atemu was the first to move… leaning in…

"Attention Passengers."

Yugi jumped five feet in the air, completely away from Atemu, breaking the moment, and landing flat on his behind, one hand clutched to his chest in fright, "We will be landing in Cairo, Egypt, in approximately fifty minutes. Please be in your seats in thirty minutes." **3**

Atemu was sending a stern death glare to the speaker overhead of them.

The silence that followed the announcement was deafening and Yugi cleared his throat, hoping to clear some tension. Yugi finally released the clutch he had on his chest, his heart still pounding out of control from the moment he'd just endured. Had he imagined it or… had Atemu been leaning in before that announcement…

"Here." Atemu gently dropped the pieces into Yugi's Reversi game-bag and gave the startled teen a smile as he offered a hand to help him stand up.

Yugi gladly took Atemu's extended hand and felt himself effortlessly pulled up to be standing once more. Just that action of knowing Atemu was stronger than he seemed… made Yugi's blush come back once again… and if Yugi hadn't been trying to hide his blush so badly… he would have noticed that Atemu had his own crimson blush to match his crimson eyes.

"You, um, said my room was the next hall over right?" Yugi finally spoke, his voice still a little higher pitched from the excitement.

"Yeah… that way," Atemu stuck out a thumb to indicate the direction.

"Thanks…" Yugi said gently.

A moment passed and Atemu cleared his throat.

"Say, Yugi… would you want to go with me in Egypt to the street markets? I'll need to go as soon as we land, it will just be to pick up something, but I don't want you to feel like you need to go if you're too tired from the trip."

"Too tired? No way!" Yugi's face had lit up, "I'd love to see something like that!"

Atemu smiled, "Good. Does that mean you slept well?"

Yugi nodded, "These beds are still more comfortable than the one I had at home in the game shop, even if they are on a plane," Yugi laughed and Atemu chuckled along with him.

"That's good to hear." Atemu said, glad to finally feel like a normal human being around Yugi, if even for a second, he was sick of getting tongue-tied around the spiky haired boy.  **4**

"Well I'd better go and get everything together, I told Jou I'd help him after I was all set." Yugi explained.

"Of course, I'll go help Jou for now, his room is the next floor up." Atemu offered.

"Thanks! I think he's going to need as much help as possible so I'll join you when I'm done…" Yugi smiled.

Yugi waved and headed off to his own room. Once inside the solidarity of the cozy cabin, he thumped straight to floor.

Atemu might have… Yugi could have sworn Atemu was leaning in… and like an idiot he had to get jumpy over a dumb loud speaker. Yugi shook it off. He could have imagined the whole thing. So, picking himself up, he got to work putting his things in bags… the quicker he was, the quicker he could get to Jou's room and help Jou… and see Atemu again…

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Yugi was a generally tidy person so it didn't take very long for his things to be in order and packed. He took his suitcase and placed it in the designated area outside of his room to be picked up, and headed up to where Atemu had directed him and to Jou's room. They had twenty minutes before they needed to be in their seats.

Jou's room was easy enough to find, just follow the distressed cries! Jou was standing in the middle of a pile of clothes looking at them furiously while Atemu attempted to help him pick them up.

"Look, 'Tem it just ain't gonna work. I don't know how my sister got all this crap to fit in this dumb bag in the first place an' now it just ain't getting back in there! Look at all these clothes!"

"Jou! How did you even manage to take all of these out when we were only on the plane one night?" Yugi asked, stepping into the minefield of a room.

"Well ya see, my sis packed my laptop on da bottom of da suitcase an' I just had to get to it somehow!" His accent picked up as he became frustrated and Yugi was almost certain he was speaking a different language when he started to rant about how women are supposed to be good at packing but don't know certain principles about the whole thing.

"Don't worry Jou, if it fit in there once, we can make it fit again." Atemu reassured, and began to roll the clothing into manageable pieces that he stacked in the suitcase.

One by one the clothes were starting to fill the suitcase, and the more they got in the more the trio was sure everything would end up fitting. One last piece sat on the floor and Yugi reached to grab it not noticing Atemu make the same move. Their hands connected and Yugi blushed, pulling his away first, the garment with it. Bashfully, he handed the shirt back to Atemu, not noticing when Atemu squeezed the hand that had been touched into a tight fist… and then relaxed it as if something had shocked him.  **5**

"You can finish." Yugi offered.

Atemu smiled and took the cloth, rolled it, and placed it into the last nook of space in the suitcase.

"Ya both are a pair of saviors! I swear! Miracle workers even!" Jou smirked, "Ya make a great team."

Yugi didn't miss the wink Jou sent him and thought he'd die of embarrassment. Sure he was glad he told Jou, but he was starting to worry the blond was getting the idea to play matchmaker.

"We had best go ahead and get to our seats." Atemu instructed.

"Oh yeah, Yug'! You've never been to Egypt before! Ya gotta see the view when we're landing'!" Jou excitedly piped in, "Now let's jus' throw this outside da door and head ta' our seats!"

Jou picked up his bag and tossed it in a similar looking cart that Yugi had had placed out side his room for luggage and the trio headed towards the passenger area of the plane. The blue lights on the ceiling made Yugi think of a bright blue sky as they began to take their seats. Jou had caught up with Seto and took the seat next to the CEO, while Atemu and Yugi stood.

"Why don't you sit here?" Atemu gestured lightly to the seats next to them, a window seat, "I do believe this side of the plane will get to see the best side."

Yugi nodded excitedly and sat down in the seat closest to the window. Looking out, he was already shocked at what he saw. Desert and water (the Nile?) surrounded by an incredibly luscious green color. And lots of it! He'd never seen so much sand in his life! But the way the rising sun reflected off it made it appear to be mounds of glittering gold far below them.  **6**

The contrast of sparkling gold and moist green captivated Yugi until he saw mainly city around him and realized they were landing in Cairo. The Cairo International Airport was right on the edge of desert and city, so after they landed, the first step Yugi took off the plane he had two completely different views. To one direction was endless desert, the other was city. He couldn't believe he was finally here! His grandpa would be ecstatic! Telling him all about the ancient history here… just the thought of his grandfather caused Yugi's heart to ache just a bit…

The group all had exited the plane and were escorted out in limousines, only Jou, Seto, Atemu and Yugi went in their own (but only after Mai mothered Yugi a bit, telling him to be safe and warning Atemu that if anything happened to Yugi it was his fault). Yugi was pretty nervous about this new experience, but excited. They were traveling down a highway and he opening stared at all the different kinds of people they passed in the other cars, feeling lucky that the limo's windows were tinted a dark color so no one could see him watching them.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

It didn't take long before they reached the market in Cairo that Atemu needed something from, and so they all exited the car. Atemu led the way into a dense crowd of people. There were vendors on both sides in between tall buildings. Cell phones were going off, people were chattering in Arabic, a language Yugi knew nothing of, and there were bright colors, different banners, young and old, women carrying small or large packages on their clothed heads. People also stared back at Yugi now, seeing his different skin and hair. Even more people looked at Atemu and Seto, who were both obviously good looking. A few people stopped Jou to ask for his autograph, the blonde hair and his style must have made him look like a movie star to them.

Car horns were going off on the busier street not too far away, but down this small back ally, Yugi truly felt like he was in another world. He became distracted by a food vendor who had set out several ice cold juices. Yugi was quite thirsty… Atemu looked back and noticed Yugi staring at the cart, he walked over.

"Which flavor?" Atemu asked.

Yugi blushed, "W-Well I can't read them…"

"Strawberry? Banana?" Atemu listed.

"Um… strawberry."

Atemu turned to the vendor and in flawless Arabic placed an order for the asiir, and once it was done, handed it to Yugi who took it with a thank you and took a deep gulp of the delicious drink.

"Is it good?" Atemu asked.

Yugi nodded, "Yeah!"

Atemu face lighted at Yugi's response and he seemed satisfied, "Ok, let's keep moving, try not to fall behind around here."

"Right." Yugi followed along, realizing that Jou and Seto had gone down a different alley.

Yugi and Atemu reached a taller building with a few non-descript signs here and there, Atemu went to go in and Yugi followed.

"Yugi, I might have to step into a back room here but I should be right back out. If I'm not out in a few minutes, feel free to look around the streets again, you brought that cell-phone right?"

Yugi reached into his pocket to feel out the phone he had been given by Atemu before they landed and nodded, "Yep!"

"Ok, well, keep it with you."

They walked into the store and Yugi about froze. This place sold guns! There were tons of guns on the walls and in the display cases… he should have known traveling with a mafia boss would wind him up in a place like this… he just didn't expect it was all.

The man behind the counter greeted them and Atemu gracefully entered a conversation in Arabic once more with him. The man seemed pleased to see Atemu and greeted him warmly. Atemu smiled as well, as if they were close friends or something? The man address Yugi and Yugi blushed, looking to Atemu.

' _ This is my friend, Hikari, he's Japanese as well, and doesn't speak any Arabic.'  _ Atemu explained.

' _ Ah! I see! No problems! Tell him he is welcome to stick around!'  _ Said the man.

' _ Of course, thank you.' _

Then Atemu shot a look back at Yugi and said in Japanese once more to him: 'I'll be right back.'

Yugi watched as the two disappeared into a back room. He started to wonder just how long he should wait alone in a place like this… what if someone crazy came in looking for a gun? Would someone think Yugi was a crazy person looking for a gun? Ugh… maybe that's why Atemu had made the offer for him to go back out on the streets… he decided he'd go ahead and do that…

Yugi stepped out into the open air and breathed in the warmth. It was still early enough in the day that the tall buildings helped shade the entire alley market. Stepping into the flow of the crowd, Yugi saw some clothing stands and decided to take a look. Regular western style clothing as well as traditional Arabic garb lined the racks and walls of the booth. Moving on, Yugi noticed a charm booth with scarab talismans and other trinkets. A delivery truck passed by on the narrow street. Incense vendors… food vendors, books, flowers, wine! Everything!

Yugi didn't know how long he spent walking down the street before he felt a hand around his wrist. He panicked and turned only to see Atemu smiling at him. Atemu's hand slipped from Yugi's wrist to holding his hand.

"See anything you want?" He asked.

Yugi blushed when the thought ' _ You' _ came to mind.

Atemu wasn't removing his hand from Yugi's, but Yugi didn't mind, and shook his head, "N-no I'm fine! Did you get what you needed?"

Atemu nodded, "Yeah, we can either go find Jou and Seto if you're ready to leave or just continue to walk."

Yugi paused, "Could we… walk a little farther?"

"Of course."

As they walked, Atemu moved an arm around Yugi's shoulders and Yugi couldn't help but suddenly feel very warm. Atemu was just taller enough than Yugi that he fit right over beside the shorter boy. It was like two pieces of a puzzle. Yugi's face went hot. But as they walked, Yugi looked at other people to gauge their reactions, and realized that many people were walking arm in arm or with their arms around another's shoulders… men and women alike. It was actually quite common the more he looked around, so he felt more relaxed… and just enjoyed Atemu's arm around him. It may have been the culture here, but Yugi let his mind pretend it was a little more than that… for just a little while.

They made it past a few more shops, but Yugi hardly paid attention to the things that Atemu would point out to him.

"The scarabs are good luck charms," Atemu commented at one point, "Would you like one?"

Yugi's heart thumped, it was like a date or something…

' _ Woah! Moron! Don't start getting stupid ideas in your head… Atemu's always been generous. These things aren't that expensive, it's not like it's going to put a dent in his wallet he just… always offers things. If Jou and Seto were here on their first time I'm sure he would buy them one too…' _ Yugi reasoned in his head.

"Well I don't want to be a bother," Came the shorter of the two's modest response, "I mean, thanks but… you've already let me come all the way out here in the first place."

"it's not a problem, really." Atemu said again, slipping his arm off Yugi's shoulder to reach for his wallet.

As they stood, another cart passed by on the road, without Yugi noticing. The edge of the cart bumped Yugi's behind and sent him falling forward… into the waiting arm of Atemu who helped steady the high-school boy. The man pulling the cart gave a 'sorry' or something like it, Atemu responded, probably, a 'It's fine' and looked down at Yugi with a grin.

"Looks like you'll need a charm for safety as well." Came the darker's voice.

Yugi looked up and about died… Atemu's devilish grin and close proximity made his heart start to beat faster… or maybe it was the heat… he was going to blame the heat… but his response in his head was: ' _ You make the perfect safety charm. _ '

Yugi blushed and pulled back from Atemu, "Thanks… guess I do."

Yugi smiled up at him, and Atemu turned to pick out a scarab charm…

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Seto stood leaning up against a wall, unimpressed by his boyfriend's stalking.

"Seriously Seto, ya gotta lighten up… I know Yug' is crushin' on Atemu and YOU know that Atemu isn't sure what he feels even though we both know that he wants Yugi like—"

"If you talk any louder I'm sure they'll be able to here you." Seto said bluntly.

Jou turned to face the brunette, "Ya callin' me a loudmouth or somethin'!"

Seto smirked, "No, I'm calling you a horrible creeper."

"I'm not a creeper!" Jou defended, striking a strong pose, "I'm just tryin' to help them out!"

Seto quirked an eyebrow at this statement, "You're trying to help them by stalking them?"

Jou sighed, "You're impossible."

"No, just an asshole."

"That too."

The blonde turned to look back at the spiky haired duo down the street, "Atemu is buyin' him something again… ahh! It's a scarab charm! Dat jerk Atemu! He didn't buy me one when we came here for the first time!"

Seto gave Jou a look, "That's because you said there was no way in hell you were going to ever wear jewelry."

"Well it looks like jewelry ta me!"

"Didn't I end up buying you one later anyway because you complained to me that you really wanted one?"

"Yeah…" Jou admitted.

"Well then."

Seto closed his eyes, honestly just wanting to get back to trying to track Zorc, but Jou had insisted they keep an eye on the two incase anything 'good' happened. Jou's tendency to get in the middle of things was showing quite plainly now but Seto didn't mind. It was Jou who asked him to come along after all… and they both knew for whatever reason that when Jou asked something of Seto, the blue-eyed CEO had a hard time saying 'no.'

"Woah!" Jou suddenly cried out, it looked like he was going to bolt down to where the charm stand was but he stopped and let out a breath, "Yug' almost got pushed right inta' that stand by a cart… good thing Atemu's got some reflexes on 'im."

Seto, being curious, peeked his head around the corner to look. Yugi was being held up by one of Atemu's arms wrapped firmly around the smaller boy's chest, and Seto could see Yugi's bright red blush from where he and Jou stood. But what made Seto laugh was the grin on Atemu's face… he was enjoying having to protect Yugi… it made Seto think of the way he enjoyed looking out for Jou…

"What is it, Seto?" Jou asked hearing Kaiba's chuckle.

"Nothing, mutt…"

"Hey!"

Seto pulled Jou into a quick embrace, burying Jou's face in his chest, "Why don't we just leave them alone for a while?"

"But they don't even know we're here…" Came Jou's muffled response from Kaiba's chest.

Seto sighed, "Come on…"

Seto took Jou's hand and led him down the alley they had been watching from to give the two unsuspecting love-birds some  _ actual _ privacy from Jou's prying eyes. After seeing that look on Atemu's face… not only did Seto gain something to tease his cousin about later, but he also had a sense that everything would work out just fine…

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIV**

Atemu pulled an amethyst scarab from the pile in front of him. It matched Yugi's eyes perfectly.

"How about this one?" Atemu offered.

Yugi looked up, he noticed that the one Atemu had was a very pretty purple color, but he saw another one he wanted more.

"Could I… actually take this one?" He asked, and pulled out the one that had caught his eye.

"That one?" Atemu asked.

Yugi had pulled out a crimson red scarab.

"Yeah," Yugi said shyly, "But you're buying and I'm happy with either one!"

Atemu smiled, "If you tell me why that one I'll agree…"

Yugi laughed, "It's a secret."

Atemu was curious now… but chose not to let it show.

"Fine." Atemu bought the scarab and, turning back to Yugi, draped the charm around Yugi's neck.

Holding on to the scarab to look at it for a moment longer, Atemu smiled at Yugi, "It suits you."

Yugi smiled back, "Thank you. Again. For everything."

Atemu nodded, and for a second, looking at Yugi's face, wanted once more, just like on the plane, to lean in… he cut off that thought process immediately. It was bad enough they were wasting time in the middle of the streets. Zorc was still out there.

"We should go find Seto and Jou." Atemu blurted out, as if in a trance.

Yugi's head cocked to the side at the sudden proposition, "Ok…"

Turning to walk down the street, Atemu didn't grab Yugi's hand or take him by the shoulders again, so Yugi trotted to keep up. Atemu had his phone out before Yugi could ask if something was wrong, and heard him talking to who he assumed was Seto. After a few seconds, he clapped the phone shut and turned to Yugi.

"We're meeting them back at the hotel. Is that Ok?"

Yugi nodded dumbly and followed Atemu once more as he took off towards where they had left the limos. The long black vehicles were waiting for them in almost the same place, a man holding open the door for the two of them. Yugi mustered a thank you to the driver, but wasn't sure what had just happened… Atemu almost frozen back at the market… did Yugi say something to upset him?

When the limo started to move, Yugi wondered if perhaps Atemu was distressed about Yugi saying he had a secret. But he sure as heck wasn't going to tell Atemu he wanted the red one because it reminded him of the color of the King's eyes…

Atemu sat staring out the window of the limousine, he felt slightly guilty to have suddenly treated Yugi with such distance, but the King worried that if he got any closer he might do something he'd regret.

' _ You're an idiot.'  _ Atemu told himself, ' _ Yugi can actually live a normal life if you don't get involved any more than you have to. Just get Zorc out of the picture, Yugi's not going to blab about me or my hideouts…' _

Atemu almost shuddered thinking of a life without Yugi's presence. Somehow, when he thought back to before Yugi showed up, it just seemed duller than things were now. The darker's fist clenched. He was usually cold and calculating. He usually didn't care about another person's life… what the hell had Yugi done to him?

Allowing his eyes to slide to look sideways, he stared at the younger boy. Deep amethyst eyes, youthful complexion, always a cheerful aura… he was alluring, that was for sure. Maybe Atemu needed some more light in his life…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 Just wanted to clarify, Yugi is feeling like Atemu is getting sick of him being around and is self-conscious about this because even though he won't say it out loud, he's starting to crush on Atemu… YOU GET IT RIGHT? NO? … well TOO BAD ._.  
> 2 We're going to say Seto has a fear of snakes, mmmkay?  
> 3 You have full permission to chew me out for ruining their moment.  
> 4 Yugi will be the spiky haired boy and Atemu will be the spiky haired man? Ugh. It's hard to use hair to describe similar looking Yami/Hikari couples T3T  
> 5 Think when Mr. Darcy touches Lizzy's hand in the newer movie? Yeah… I love that xD  
> 6 The scenes in Egypt are going to be really hard for me to write since I'm going from second hand account, I've never been there myself though it's a life goal to see the pyramids one day… I just wanted to warn you that all of this is through word-of-mouth representation or just straight up imagination! So bear with me please ^^ ! Honestly most of this is google, youtube, and googlemaps doing their very best to help me feel what it would be like to spend a day in Egypt!


	9. Persuasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, there was a two year gap when I was writing this between the last chapter and this chapter!

Bakura walked the busy streets of Cairo, the King had to be around here somewhere… maybe the quartet had got lost? Or left already. Bakura exhaled deeply. This was bullshit. How was he supposed to help the King and Seto keep tabs on that moron of an adversary (Zorc) if they didn't let him know where they were going?

Sure, Bakura  _ could _ use a cell phone, but he didn't trust the blasted things as far as he could throw them, which was pretty far… so that expression didn't help much. Technology and the white haired "Thief" just didn't seem to go well together.

In the sea of dark hair, Bakura saw a flash of color. Thinking it could be Atemu's blonde bangs or the mutt's mop that had caught his eye, he gave chase. As he turned the corner, the hair he saw turned out to be a longer main of white, similar to his own… this intrigued Bakura. He rarely found someone with such different looking locks, and for them to be in Egypt? Bakura decided to hang back and follow the boy.

As Bakura watched, he noticed that the boy had fair skin, and by fair, he really meant snow white kind of skin, and wore a traveler's backpack, obviously a tourist. The boy seemed intrigued by the things set out on display at the shops. Bakura slipped back to keep hidden, starting to wonder if he'd seen this boy before… Thinking on it now… The Pharaoh had sent Bakura to the look-a-like midget King's high school to set up the whole "internship" bologna… that was it! This kid looked like Bakura so much when he had seen him at Domino High School. But what was he doing all the way out in Egypt?

Bakura kept to the sides of buildings and followed the more innocent looking one into a back alley where the kid met up with a hooded figure, who unfortunately had his face not only hooded, but turned away from Bakura so that he couldn't get identification.

"They're staying at the Nile Hotel. Can I go now?" The white hair kid said in a huff.

"So impatient, Ryou!" Said the hooded figure, "Don't you care about payment?"

"You said she'd be safe if I did this."

"Oh she is! Don't worry your pretty little head about that! But I'm afraid you aren't exactly out of this yet…"

"I did what you asked… you didn't say I'd have to do more."

"You'll do as you're told, or she dies, and you'll be to blame." The voice came out like venom.

Bakura watched as the hooded figured grabbed the boy's arm and pulled him in close, whispering further instructions into the boy's ear. The boy's face twisted in displeasure as he listened to the instructions he was given, clearly put off by the idea that this guy had something on him.

Bakura wasn't able to hear any more of what the hooded figured said and couldn't go down the alley without exposing himself to the two. So he hung back at a shop right next to the exit of the alley way. The two had been talking about the same Hotel that the Pharaoh was staying in… he smelt something funny about the whole thing. It's not every day that some nobody is being blackmailed into trailing someone to a hotel on the same day that a Boss comes into town.

When Ryou emerged from the alley, an obvious annoyed look on his face, Bakura peaked back down to see if the other man would follow, but when he looked down the alley, the man was gone. Ryou seemed so irritated by his new instructions that he didn't seem to be paying attention to his surroundings, an amateur mistake. Satisfied that the hooded man was gone, he began to track the pawn. Surely this young boy would tell Bakura everything he knew with a little… persuasion.

**VXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXV**

The two men sat in their cramped closet.

"Are you sure it's going to work this time?" Asked the first.

"How should I know? But the boss said it would. Said this time we'd have even more warning if they're tracking us."

"Well I don't like it."

"Well then you can miss out on the cash we're gonna rake in if we do this job right. Now are you gonna help me out or are you just gonna keep bitching?"

"Look, all I'm saying is we're putting our necks out. Gebelk never came back from their little meeting with that douche-bag the King… I think things went south, and they know who's behind it."

"So what." Said the darker of the two, "That just means they're going to go after the boss and not us."

"Well I still don't like it…"

**VXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXV**

Marik and Malik approached the hotel warily. It'd been a long time since they'd come back to this place. Both boys had been born and raised here, but didn't call this home. This land brought back not-so-fond distant memories for the twin Egyptians. But that was a long time ago… now they were just here to inform their sister of the current events… although she was probably already well aware.

Stepping through the automatic glass doors of the hotel, the two were blasted by cool air. They observed the lobby full of the upper crest population of downtown Cairo. Lavish indoor fountains lined the middle of the expansive room. Bright orange tile with blue carpet mixed with gold details. There were women dressed in very professional business skirts and long sleeve collared shirts behind the counter and men in suits and ties helping guests with their luggage and assisting them to find their rooms. One man stood different from the others dressed in dark robes. His head was half covered with ancient markings, a tattoo that ran across his eyes and cheeks. The only hair on the man's head came from a low ponytail just above his neck. He watched as the two twins entered with a stoic expression on his face.

"Welcome back Master Marik, Master Malik." Said the man.

"Hey Rashid." Greeted Malik.

Marik smiled, "It's been too long, huh?"

"She's been expecting you," said the man called Rashid.

"Figures," Malik said, rolling his eyes.

Rashid let a smile through, "It just goes to show that some things never change."

**XVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVX**

Atemu and Yugi sat in the back of the limo. Atemu hadn't said much, and Yugi was started to fidget. What had he done? Maybe… maybe Atemu was just realizing that Yugi was a nobody, a kid, who hadn't seen the world or done anything all that great…

"Yugi…"

Hearing his name slip from those lips made him shudder.

"Yeah?" Yugi responded, not sure if Atemu was about to tell him that he'd have to go back to Japan.

Maybe he was going to let him know that Jou was just pulling his leg. That there was no way a guy like the  _ King _ would like a guy like Yugi. But the next words didn't come. They reached the hotel and Atemu got out first, holding the door open for Yugi.

Yugi let out a "thanks," and followed the Pharaoh in through glass doors. Through the main doors, the lobby was large and filled with running fountains, women and men dressed in suits, brilliant oranges, blues and golds. Real palm trees lined paths through the lobby and towards the elevators. Atemu moved towards the women standing behind the desk. The one he chose to talk to obviously seemed pleased, who wouldn't with such a handsome man talking to you? Yugi looked around a little more. Along the bottom of the fountain in golden letters spelled out "Nile Hotel." It fit nicely. Yugi could get the feeling of being by a river in this serene hotel. He hoped Atemu wasn't going to ship him back to Japan just for the fact that he hadn't gotten to see any of Egypt yet.

Looking around the room, Yugi started to wonder if he really would get to at least see a pyramid… a hand on his shoulder jumped him out of his little day-dream.

"I've got our room key." Atemu said gently, realizing he had startled Yugi.

"OK," Yugi said trying his best to give Atemu a genuine smile.

They walked to the elevators, and without having to press any buttons, the doors opened. A man in a suit stood inside, Atemu gave him the floor number. When they reached floor 6, the elevator stopped and Atemu walked out, Yugi followed in toe. Atemu stopped in front of room 614. Opening the room, Yugi suddenly came to a stop. Yugi's belongings were on the floor in the living room area of the suite… next to them were Atemu's things… and then it hit him… he had  _ their _ room key.

They were going to be in a room… together. No, no way, couldn't be. Maybe he just hadn't seen the other luggage… or at least maybe the beds were separate…

"Um," Yugi walked a little more into the room after Atemu, trying not to give away his growing excitement, "Who else is staying with us?"

Atemu seemed to notice the slight change in Yugi's voice. His crimson eyes looked over to Yugi; the door to their room had swung shut and clicked in a suggestive manner. Atemu smirked slightly; the innocence in Yugi's face was shining through.

"Well, I had thought it'd be OK for just the two of us to share a room… but if you'd rather have your own I could certainly make arrangements."

"No!" Yugi realized how quickly he responded, "I mean… just don't go through so much trouble for me, it's really f-fine if we're in here alone, ugh, I mean, you know. I don't feel threatened o-or anything."

Atemu smiled and looked away, "Let me know if you change your mind."

Yugi hadn't realized that in the back of Atemu's mind, he was hoping Yugi would choose to stay away from him, to save himself from getting any more tangled in this sticky dangerous web, but he wasn't displeased when Yugi seemed flustered and wanted to stay in the room with him…

Yugi had a chance to fully look around the room now, they stood in a living room area which smoothly transitioned into a dining and kitchen area. Two rooms (separate, Yugi was slightly bummed) had two large beds in them. Both had canopy sheer sheets hanging down over down pillows and comforters. Pure white. The floor was marble patterned in a very rigid Egyptian flair. A bathroom was near the bedrooms, with a Jacuzzi tub and large stand up shower inside. Tan tiles and light blue walls with a sky light made the bathroom light up. It looked relaxing. Yugi wondered if he'd get a nice bath in later. Atemu seemed to notice where Yugi's eyes lingered.

"Would you like to take a bath?" Atemu asked.

Yugi gulped.

**XVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVX**

Bakura had followed Ryou down a few streets, the boy wasn't even bothering looking around. It didn't take long for Bakura to realize the direction he was headed. The boy was going towards the hotel, there was no doubt about it. The Thief King worried that perhaps the boy's backpack held something more sinister—a bomb maybe? No, most likely not. The boy didn't seem too shaken and certainly wouldn't just be peeved over having to plant a bomb… or maybe he'd been given the backpack without knowing what was in it…

Bakura sped up to get closer to the boy, he had a plan but wasn't sure if he could be certain the boy wasn't being tailed. As he reached the boy he looked around, no one seemed to be watching him. Those fools probably thought that the King wouldn't have men like him on patrol in the city streets. They thought wrong… however, Bakura wanted to make sure no one saw him interact with the boy. Bakura quickly pulled out an old receipt and a pen from his jean pockets, scribbling down a few words:

_ I know what they want from you. I can help. Meet me here. _

An address was sprawled along the bottom of the torn paper.

Bakura caught up easily to Ryou, his strides were much longer though both boys had long graceful legs. As Bakura passed, his hand found its way into Ryou's, successfully slipping the paper into his palm. Ryou jumped only slightly, looking at the side of the Thief King's face.

To Ryou, he saw the side of Bakura's face: handsome, tan, scarred,  _ dangerous  _ looking. He shuddered. He'd already gotten into a situation with dangerous men… but this one…

Before Ryou could say anything or react further, the man darted down an alley as they passed by it. Ryou stopped and watched him walk away. Looking down into his hand, he saw a folded note. Reading the words, his eyes widened.

' _ How does he know? _ ' Ryou thought, now seriously concerned.

What if the men blackmailing him found out that someone else  _ knew. _

' _ But his note says he can help… I don't know… he looked just as dangerous…' _

Ryou decided he had no choice… she was in danger… he might as well find a different way, after all, he didn't want to get involved in this silly mafia business. But little did the boy know…

He followed Bakura down the same Alley, unsure of where the address on the bottom of the paper really was. He got to the next street and saw the name written on the side of the road, thank God the signs were in multiple languages or he'd have no idea where he was going. The men who brought him here didn't exactly equip him with an 'Arabic for Dummies' book on the way over. He looked around at the numbers above the doorways and headed south down the street. As he approached the address he looked around. It seemed like a regular enough shop… just a little trinket store?

He stepped through the open door. Little talismans, daggers, boxes, incenses, and jars surrounded him. Carpets of all sorts and shapes lined the floors. Colorful sheets were draped down off the sides of the walls, swaying gently in the wind. No sign of the white haired man who had given him the note though. Moving slightly around the corner, he spotted an old lady standing behind the counters. She motioned for him to go through a back door, and Ryou obliged, after all he had come this far.

Through the doorway, he found himself in a small court yard. A tree grew in the middle, he wasn't sure what kind, certainly one he'd never seen in Domino City before…

There was another door on the other side, so he continued through.

Passing through the doorway, he stepped through into a dark room.

"Hello?" He called out, unable to see much in front of him.

The door shut behind him, and Ryou's world went pitch black.


	10. To the Hotel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANOTHER fun fact there were an ANOTHER two years between chapter 9 and 10 when I was originally writing this! And that's why I'll never publish another story unless it's completely finished.

Ryou froze. He couldn't see a single thing. The room was way too dark. His breath hitched as he put out his hands, looking for the wall behind him. Throwing himself against the door that had just rudely locked him in, he called out again.

"Who's there? Anyone?" Ryou called into the darkness but didn't hear anything, "Please, I was given a note to come here… I… I do need help…"

A dark voice growled out of the darkness, "This room suits me to make sure you don't pull any fast ones… how do I truly know you're not a spy after all…"

Ryou's eyes darted helplessly in the dark, "Well t-that's kind of the problem! I have been told to spy on someone but… look, I really am quite innocent in all of this. If we could just talk face to face like normal people I'm sure we can w-work something out."

Ryou was starting to seriously regret his decision to come here.

"Who's setting you up?" The voice asked.

"I don't know his name… I swear." Ryou said calmly.

The room went silent for a minute, Ryou could hear his own heart speed up in his chest.

"Well, why don't we see what  _ useful _ information you can give me then?" The man's voice was right in Ryou's ear.

Pushing his arms out to get the mysterious man away, Ryou hit a chest, broad, firm… unlike Ryou's own soft skin. Ryou panicked when he felt hands grab his wrists, the boy tried to worm away but with no luck. He felt himself dragged into the middle of the room, something hit Ryou behind his knee and he went down, the hands releasing his wrists. He was now in the middle of the room, no comfort of wall behind him, and still in complete darkness. His eyes helplessly darted back and forth, breathing increasing in rate.

"W-what do you w-want?" He called out meekly.

"Why don't you give me a detail of what this unknown man looks like for starters?" The voice growled impatiently.

"H-He had, well, I didn't see much of his hair… maybe he didn't have hair…"

A growl let out near Ryou's ear again and he shivered, "You better come up with some more useful information or I'll just have to make sure another idiotic breath doesn't come out of your lips."

A hand grabbed Ryou's arm, firm, hard,  _ strong _ , "Are. We. Clear?" Asked the dark voice.

"Crystal…" Ryou peeped.

**XVXVXVXVXVXVXVX**

Yugi's blush was firmly planted across his cheeks. He looked straight down at his feet and tried not to look too guilty of thinking perverted thought. Obviously Atemu hadn't meant for them to take a bath  _ together _ .

"Ah, I-I don't know." Yugi stammered, "It might be nice."

Atemu smiled, not missing the blush on Yugi's face, "Well you're welcome to take one if you wish. I thought of taking one myself."

In the back of Atemu's mind, he was struggling not to invite the boy to take one with him. But he knew he had to protect Yugi… though he still didn't quite know what was making him feel this way. Yugi was  _ too _ pure for Atemu. There would be no way… but when Yugi's blush increased after Atemu's remark, he wondered if maybe the lighter-seeming boy was having the same dark thoughts as Atemu.

Breaking the tension, Atemu moved to grab his things, turning away from Yugi. He picked up his two bags and took them into one of the rooms. Laying out his things, he looked back at Yugi who had decided to follow suit and picked up his own suitcase and backpack. Atemu watched carefully as Yugi looked at the available bedroom, and then looked over to the room Atemu had claimed. They made eye contact with made his blush return in full force. Yugi made a beeline for the unoccupied room, and gently shut the door.

Atemu sighed, it seemed as though getting a room together was going to cause a lot more grief than he had expected, but with Yugi down for the count (seeing as all his blood had rushed to his face… and one other place Atemu had been thinking about) Atemu decided he would go ahead and take a bath. Walking to the bathroom, the older occupant shut the door behind him and proceeded to undress. Starting the water, he let it get hot enough that the room already started to steam up. When the tub was full, Atemu swung a leg over and allowed himself to relax into the warmth of the water, jets on full blast.

Yugi sat in his room listening to the water running and did anything he could to not think about the other man getting undressed. His room over looked a smaller pool on the fourth floor, cabanas and colorful chairs lined around the area, waiters taking drinks to the guests. Yugi had never got to stay at a place so fancy. He rarely got to swim either… most days at his gym that were pool days he tended to try and skip… it's bad enough getting picked on for being small… it's even worse getting picked on because you have such a boyish figure. There was a time Yugi had tried to work out and get in shape, maybe get six pack abs or something… but it was short lived… Yugi just wasn't into it. And it wasn't like he was unhealthy… he just wasn't a "bulk up" kind of guy.

Yugi's thing had all found a proper place, and Yugi found himself slightly hungry. Heading out of his room, he found the kitchen was stocked with fruits and vegetables (most of which were recognizable) and chose a few baby carrots and hummus to munch on. Sitting down at the table, he was almost finished with his snack when the bathroom door let out a "click."

Out came something straight out of a fantasy. Atemu's hair was slightly less spikey due to the humidity, but his shoulders and torso (perfectly sculpted torso) were still dripping slightly from the water. Strong arms held a towel around his waist… his incredibly hard-to-take-eyes-off-of waist. Yugi had the hardest time taking his eyes away from the lines under Atemu's abs leading to the hidden confines of the towel, but when he succeeded he only found himself looking right into burning crimson eyes.

God, those eyes.

Yugi shuddered and tried to make conversation… which was difficult since the room temperature seemed to jump fifty degrees…

"D-did you have a nice bath?" Yugi asked clearing his throat from the saliva that had built up.

Atemu smiled, Yugi didn't know how adorable he looked sitting there, a guilty blush across his face after eyeing the elder up, "It was great."

"Ah, good! I'll have to have one in a little bit." Yugi looked down to his empty plate.

Atemu couldn't help himself, he moved over to the boy, not trying to cover up any more than necessary, "What did you find to eat?"

Yugi was startled when Atemu started to move towards him, "A-Ah… um, I had… carrots! And there's some hummus in the fridge still… h-hopefully that's OK?"

Yugi looked up to see smiling, slanted red eyes looking at him and gulped.

"Of course Yugi… you're welcome to  _ anything _ you see in here." Atemu didn't even hide the suggestion behind the comment.

Yugi was burning up. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up. He hadn't been this turned on in…well… ever. He stood up quickly and turned towards his room.

"I-think-I'll-take-a-bath-now!" He blurted out, and ran straight into the bathroom.

After the door to the bathroom was shut, Yugi threw himself against it, trying to catch his breath. That was a low, dirty blow… Atemu had actually been…? Had he been coming onto Yugi? No way… but then, there's  _ no _ way that was all in Yugi's head…

' _ I'll get you back.'  _ Yugi said, a misplaced devious grin coming to his lips.

**XVXVXVXVXVXVXVX**

Jou and Seto had made their way back to the hotel. Seto had an idea who they were going to talk to, but he'd only met her once before… and she freaked him out. So in no hurry to go there until the King absolutely ordered him to, Seto took Jou through the hotel. As they went up the elevator, Jou looked over at Seto. When they stepped off at their floor, Jou decided to start the questions.

"So are ya gonna tell me who exactly we're gonna go see? I'm statin' to get pretty freaked out here."

Seto signed, "Look, I told you I really can't explain… her."

"Well she reads minds, right?"

Seto held back a face-palm, "No… she can guess really well at the future."

"Whaaa—so… so she can see dah future?" Jou asked confused by the way Seto said it.

"I highly doubt she actually has some dumb power like seeing the future…"

"I dunno Seto… sounds pretty solid ta me if dah King trusts her…"

Seto didn't say much after that. They made their way down to their room which Atemu had informed Seto was right next to his own. Stopping at 614, Seto knocked quickly on the door. Atemu answered the door, towel still around his waist.

"Seto."

"King," Seto and Jou stood slightly awkwardly outside the door, not completely expecting him to be so… exposed.

"What is it?"

"When are we meeting with the fraud?" Seto asked crossing his arms, "I wanted to know how much time I have if it's even worth trying to trace Zorc for now."

Atemu stood back and allowed them into the room, "Firstly Seto, she's not a fraud and I don't know how you can think that of her after all she's done for you and for la famiglia…"

"I don't trust her." Seto said firmly.

Jou looked back and forth between the two men, "Ah, maybe I should'a waited in our room?"

"No," Seto said, "I just need the time Atemu."

"We're to meet with her within the next few hours. Marik and Malik have gone to see her first. It's fitting that they see their sister before we all barge in."

"Figures. We'll be next door then." Seto left back out to the hallway, Jou following him after a small salute to the King.

Atemu rolled his eyes and made sure the door clicked firmly behind them before going to put on his usual attire.

**XVXVXVXVXVXVXVX**

Bakura smiled devilishly in the dark. Obviously the youth he'd captured couldn't see this smile as to the boy it was pitch black. Bakura however had spent plenty of time underground and in dark places that it was very easy for him to see outlines and shapes almost as if it were twilight. He had always accredited his excellent night vision to making him a perfect thief, and in this case it would do wonders for an interrogation. The boy, Ryou as he had been called before, was still sitting in the chair Bakura had shoved behind him, looking around the room wide-eyed trying to absorb any ounce of light that was in the room.

"Glad to hear you're going to be so cooperative." Bakura smiled, "Now let's see, since you can't give me anything useful on your employer, how about what they have on you."

Ryou gulped, "Well… look really I—"

Bakura's hand found its way to a knife he kept hidden in his pocket at all times and in the blink of an eye, that knife found its way to Ryou's neck pressing ever so slightly against the milky white flesh.

"Is that the sound of hesitation?" Bakura purred, "This interrogation could get quite messy if that's the case."

"N-No, wait," Ryou's eyes closed and he exhaled, "I'm being blackmailed by these thugs and they've taken someone close to me."

"And who might that be?"

"My younger cousin. She was visiting from America in Japan and… look, basically I was involved with the Mafia at one point, I'd rather not say which gang if you don't mind, and this rival gang found out. They know about me, they knew about my cousin Rebecca and they've taken her."

Bakura thought for a moment and removed the knife, "Please tell me you're not talking about Rebecca Hawkins."

"You-! You know her?" Ryou asked eyes wide again looking around for Bakura to confirm.

"Bloody hell… yes, I know her. And I know you. You see, that mob you work for, I'm one of the Capodecina and if you've somehow fucked up whatever mission the King had given to you then I might as well kill you here."

"Please!" Ryou said, "Please don't I just… I know where they have Rebecca, if you can help me get to her then I won't have to worry about anyone getting hurt if I don't do as they ask."

"What did they ask?" Bakura asked curiously.

"Well, they knew the King wouldn't be worried if I showed up at the hotel out of coincidence." Ryou said in a small voice.

"That's probably not true." Bakura said flatly, "There's been a lot going on lately and I can almost guarantee that the King would be suspicious if a senior at a Japanese high school that he hired on eons ago suddenly shows up at the same 5-star hotel that he's staying at."

"Oh…" Ryou blurted out dumbly, "They… they just wanted me to get close to him."

Bakura suddenly remember the backpack, "I don't suppose that they gave you that hideous tourist backpack as well?"

Ryou nodded but then realizing Bakura probably couldn't see him let out a meek confirmation.

"Great," Bakura sighed, "time to get you the hell away from this place."

"You think they planted a bomb…" Ryou started to panic, "If they realize I'm not going where I was told they could set it off at any moment."

Bakura lifted the boy out of the chair by his collar and pulled him along roughly, "Luckily, we shouldn't be anywhere nearby if they do decide to do that."

Bakura turned on a light in the windowless room and Ryou could see now it was very bare and plain on the inside, but he pulled away as soon as he could.

"We can't just leave! They have Rebecca…" The lighter reminded the darker.

Bakura looked over to the light-skinned teenager and smirked, "Not for long."


	11. Rebecca

Seto and Jou made their way into their own hotel room. Jou flopped down on the bed, tossing his luggage carelessly to the side of the room and stretched.

"Aw man! This place always has 'ta comfiest mattresses! Nothin' like back in Domino." Jou sighed.

Seto looked over amused and gently laid his briefcase at his side of the bed. Unlike their next door neighbors, they didn't have a problem sharing a bed; it wouldn't be the first time anyway. While they did try to keep their relationship out of the newspapers for the sake of the company, Seto would often have Jou come stay with him on weekends or down time but Jou still had his own apartment that he stayed at most of the time. Jou looked over to watch Seto meticulously putting away his things and smiled. Seto was always the more responsible one, always paying attention to details even in the smallest of tasks. It was one of the things that Jou really loved about the brunette.

"So ya gonna tell me what happened to make ya so against this lady we're going ta see?" Jou pried.

"I've already told you, I don't exactly like to talk about it."

"But the King—" Jou was cut off by an exasperated sigh.

"Look pup," Seto smirked when Jou frowned at the nickname, "I just don't trust her. She hasn't done anything directly against us or anything to hurt the family but her… abilities, wherever they might originate from, are just… spooky."

Jou laid back on the bed once more, eyes closing and hands finding their way to rest behind his head, "Whateva… sounds ta me like your just a lil' in denial."

Seto frowned, "Magic doesn't exist, Jou. No one can ever make me change my mind on that."

**XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI**

Two blonde heads walked down the hall on either side of a bald one. Rashid, Marik, and Malik all walked without saying much. They had all grown up together. Rashid, being older, was always more of the protector even though he wasn't blood related. Malik and Rashid had never quite seen eye to eye on certain matters, mainly the two younger Egyptian's involvement with the mafia. Marik had always relied on Rashid for guidance. He loved his twin brother, but Malik had a bit of a psychiatric problem that never made his judgement one hundred percent reliable.

"Has she been well?" Marik asked Rashid trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Well enough." He answered gently.

Marik shot a glance past Rashid to catch Malik's eyes. It's not that they weren't enthused to be seeing their elder sister again, it was just that… well, for seeing the future she could sometimes be abrasive about their own paths.

"We're here." Rashid said stopping in front of two large golden doors.

The doors opened and on the other side was a tan skinned woman with long dark hair and piercing blue eyes. Around her neck was a piece of solid gold shaped to look like an eye.

"Welcome brothers." Her voice was smooth, eluding confidence, "I've been expecting you."

"No doubt…" Malik said unimpressed, "Dear sister if you've been expecting us then you know as well that we're in a bit of a hurry."

"Yes, yes, come in. We've much to discuss."

**XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI**

Ryou and Bakura had left the backpack in the room and bolted out the back. Ryou fussed when Bakura tried to pull him along by the hand but found that the taller had quite a strong grip, and also seemed to not take "no" for an answer. They moved through the crowded streets until Bakura found a small alley next to a small shop.

"What are we doing?" Ryou asked frustrated, "Rebecca is in danger every second I don't do what they've asked."

"I realize that." Bakura said flatly, "However, I also know that they really need you as leverage against the King. If you do as I say then I should have a plan to get Rebecca to safety as well as get you out of here."

"Why?" Ryou blurted out.

Bakura turned to look at the teen, his steel blue eyes hit chocolate brown and the smaller gulped as Bakura smirked.

"Just trust me kid."

Before Ryou could protest Bakura continued to pull the teen past a few shops and finally ducked into a hookah bar. A waiter bowed and swung his arm out across the room inviting them to sit wherever they choose. Bakura ushered Ryou into an unoccupied couch by the windows. Ryou sat and got a chance to look around the hazy room. There were only a few places that were being used and though the room was hazy, the smell of the water pipe smoke was pleasant unlike the cigarettes that were in Japan  **1** .

While Ryou had been taking in his surroundings he looked to see Bakura glancing over the menu and just about stood up to leave.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" Ryou asked crossing his arms, his patience for being dragged along wearing out.

Bakura looked up and had to stifle a laugh, the pout creeping across Ryou's face was… well, entertaining to say the least, "I'm doing what we thieves typically call a steak out. When there is a place you want to steal something from, you have to wait until the right moment."

"I'm sorry, but just in case you haven't noticed, I'm still as much in the dark about this whole plan as I was in that bloody room back there so unless you feel like filling me in on some details on how exactly you plan on saving Rebecca and what she has to do with stealing something, I might as well go back and find that backpack before some poor bloke gets blown sky-high."

Bakura blinked, once… twice… "Well why didn't you just say something a little sooner."

Ryou huffed as Bakura set down the menu. A waiter came over and Bakura ordered something in perfect Arabic. Ryou was a little impressed but tried to keep his best 'I still don't trust you' look planted on his face. Bakura leaned back into the couch and smiled.

"Look kid, I've been around these parts before, I know who goes where and who runs what. I can tell you that the shop across from here is famously known for their scorpion skewers but as you can see, it's closed."

Ryou looked across the street to glance at the dark windows, "Yeah so? Places have things happen… maybe it's under construction."

"With no sign? With no notice? At a prime time of day? I don't think so, especially not since it was open when I passed by earlier." Bakura looked into the dark windows and Ryou could swear that Bakura was seeing something he wasn't.

"So… what? You think they're in there?"

"That's exactly what I think… Look."

The hooded figure that had met with Ryou earlier exited the shop, turned down the street, and was lost in only a few seconds to the jumble of the crowd.

Ryou sat upright to try and keep an eye on the man, but he was gone, "Well, brilliant. What now?"

Bakura pulled out his cell phone and quickly typed a message to Seto. Ryou had failed to notice Bakura snap a picture of the man as he was exiting.

"Now, we let the experts find out a little more for us, and we save your dolt of a cousin."

**XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI**

The hooded man turned into the bustling streets of Cairo. The tracker on that teen Ryou had stopped in a building on the way to the hotel but hadn't moved in a while. It seemed fishy. If the kid had backed out of the agreement then he'd have to deal with the mess of getting rid of the annoying American girl. As he walked along the streets towards the backpack locater he noticed a familiar face waiting to meet him.

"Zorc… I didn't expect to find you out here." Said the hooded man.

Zorc fell in to walk beside the man, "It seemed you were having some troubles."

The hooded figure cleared his throat, "Not quite… nothing I can't handle at least."

Zorc stopped causing the hooded figure to turn around to look at him.

"Look Keith, you've been great so far, but I can promise you that if this goes wrong and that boy or the girl gets away, there will be hell to pay."

The man named Keith pulled off his hood to reveal blonde hair and brown eyes, "I can promise you Zorc, I won't let you down like those other two ass-clowns continue to do. I didn't leave the girl totally unattended."

"You had better hope you live up to those words…" Zorc sneered impatiently, his dark eyes flashed in warning, "I don't want the King to catch on too soon to our little plan."

"Yes Zorc."

"I'll be in touch."

Keith pulled his hood back into place as Zorc melded with the crowd around them and was gone.

**XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI**

Yugi was laying in the bath enjoying the hot water, thinking about the past couple day's events and trying to get a certain crimson-eyed King out of his mind when he remembered that the King had mentioned coming here to seek out someone's help. Yugi pulled himself away from the warm water and drained the tub. Grabbing a towel, he dried off and put on new clothes he had brought into the bathroom with him. He had wanted to strut out of there like Atemu had, in only a towel, but his courage had failed him at the last second. Hair still slightly damp, he walked out to find Atemu sitting on one of the couches in the living room area watching the news. There didn't seem to be anything exciting on so Yugi didn't mind interrupting when he asked when they were leaving to see this mysterious lady.

"We'll be leaving in a just a couple minutes." Atemu answered flipping through the channels.

"Does she have a name?"

Atemu nodded, "Her name is Isis Ishtar… she's the older sister of Malik and Marik."

"Oh? I didn't know they had a sister, they never said anything about her on the way over."

"They tend not to say a whole lot about family in general… it wasn't the best situation." Atemu shut the TV off and leaned forward pressing his elbows onto his knees, "Look Yugi, I'd like you to go with us… but I need you to know that Isis has a… a gift."

Yugi's face scrunched in confusion, "What do you mean, 'gift'?"

It's was Atemu's turn to make a face. He didn't exactly know how to tell Yugi that she could see the future; it wasn't exactly a common trait for someone to have.

"She has visions of things that haven't happened yet." Atemu tried his best to explain without talking to the lighter one as if he was a child.

"She…" Yugi thought about it, "She can tell what's going to happen? She can see the future?"

"Yes, that's right." Atemu said slowly trying to gage Yugi's reaction to Atemu's belief in her.

"Huh, well I certainly didn't peg you to be the superstitious type." Yugi smiled a little, Atemu smiled back.

"You'll just have to see when you meet her…she knows a lot more than just the future but it's hard to explain it."

Yugi nodded, but didn't say anything more. Atemu stood, stretched, and walked to grab a light jacket as he headed for the door.

"Well then, let's go meet her." Atemu held the door open for Yugi and led him towards Seto and Jou's room first.

Knocking on the door, they collected the blonde and brunette and started to head to the lobby of the hotel. The large golden doors that Marik and Malik had come to with Rashid were closed once again and the King took it upon himself to swing them open. Four pairs of eyes met four pairs and Yugi suddenly felt a little sick to his stomach. The woman, Isis, he knew her from somewhere…

**XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI**

Bakura threw some currency down onto their table and grabbed Ryou's hand once again to pull him across the busy street and outside of the dark building that the hooded figure had come out of. He peaked through the glass of the shop but no one was inside. Slipping around the side of the building they eventually found the backdoor where Bakura knelt and pulled out a lock pick.

"What are you doing?!" Ryou asked incredulously as Bakura began to fiddle with the lock.

"Look kid, you already know I'm with the Kings, what the hell were you expecting me to do?" The lock clicked and the door swung open, "Next time, I'll knock and politely ask them to return your cousin and we can have a contest as to which one of us ends up  _ dead _ first. Now keep your mouth  _ shut _ and follow me."

Ryou bristled at Bakura's insults but did in fact keep his mouth shut as they entered the dark building. It was lighter than the last dark room Ryou had found himself in. The back of the restaurant had nothing out of the usual: boxes on shelves, the occasional cooking pot or pan, a few clear containers with the skewers inside of them. Moving slowly, Bakura was listening for any movement. He knew the upstairs of this building fairly well, at least he remembered it a little from the previous time he'd broken into this place, but that was quite a while ago. The Thief King smirked, it was amusing how the adrenaline rush he always got and the senses that he didn't even know he had turned on when he was on the hunt for an object. There was a flight of stairs on the other end of the building and Bakura motioned to Ryou to keep following him. However, next to that staircase was the only unusual thing in the store: the scorpions.

Bakura passed by the glass container of angry looking scorpions without even a blink but Ryou froze staring wide eyed at the venomous little devils. Bakura, noticing Ryou's steps had stopped, turned to look at the white haired teen and had to physically stop himself from letting out a hardy laugh at the younger's appearance. Bakura imagined the teen as a cat with its hairs on end and hissing.

"Scared?" Bakura teased through a whisper. "They can't get out and even if they did they're only a little toxic."

Ryou pouted and Bakura smirked, continuing up the stairs. Ryou scooted past the skittering little arthropods at as much distance as he could manage. As they began to ascend the stairs, Bakura heard a voice from the first room to the left.

"Look bud, this is getting really uncomfortable. Why don't you just let me out of these ropes and I promise I won't try anything funny." Came a high pitched voice, must have been Rebecca.

"Like hell…" Came a second voice, deeper, definitely male.

So she wasn't alone. Bakura pondered about if there was only one or two. Moving slowly to the door, he tried to listen to any sounds of footsteps.

"Come oooon!" Whined the girl, "It's just you and me! No one has to know if you let me stretch my legs!"

Ah ha, so the brat's big mouth was good for something. Bakura pulled a gun from his pants  **2** and saw the flicker of fear run across Ryou's face. Bakura pointed the gun at the door and held the other hand's pointer finger up to his lips in a 'shh' motion. Bakura took a breath and slowly tried the door. It was open. These guys were amateurs. He pushed hard and pointed the gun at a man with dark hair and green eyes standing near the window.

"Ahhh Bakura…" The man turned around, "I wondered how long it would take you to get here."

"What the fuck is your game Otogi."

Ryuji Otogi, also known as the Duke, was the punk who had ran with Zorc at the restaurant and Bakura had not been looking forward to seeing his smug face again.

"Whatever could you mean?" Duke's green eyes flashed to Ryou standing slightly behind Bakura.

Ryou tried to put on his best 'brave' face, but it was a little difficult for a normal high school kid to really muster much confidence when he was in such a tense situation.

"You brought our useless leverage I see…" Duke said looking bored at the idea that Ryou hadn't done what he had asked.

"Look asshole, give me one good reason I shouldn't fire this off into your fucking skull right now." Bakura put his finger on the trigger; he wasn't in the mood at all.

"Calm down." Otogi turned to Rebecca and undid the rope holding her to the chair, "I don't want to fight with you, I don't care that your little blonde friend killed that loser Gebelk. I just want to talk and hopefully, to make a deal."

Bakura didn't take his hand off the trigger as Rebecca moved over to give Ryou a hug and Bakura heard her whisper something along the lines of 'Wow, I didn't know you were such a badass Ryou!'

"What kind of deal…" Bakura didn't take his eyes off of the Duke as he moved to a desk on the other side of the room.

"Well to be honest, Zorc is going to be very upset when he finds out that Ryou and his  _ sweet _ cousin Rebecca have gotten out of our grasp. But honestly I'm getting pretty bored of being Zorc's stepping stool… you'd know all about that though Thief King." Bakura's expression didn't change but Ryou was watching him trying to figure out what Otoji meant, "Look just don't shoot me. I didn't know that Zorc was going to go after your King's little pet like that and try and take him out at the same time. I've never had anything against your King. Let me be a double agent and help you take out Zorc. With the idea being that I'll get his famiglia once he's out of the way." The Duke smiled wickedly, "What do you say Bakura?"

Bakura frowned, "I'd say you're an idiot and I'm not going to trust you."

Otogi frowned, "Of course… you'd be stupid to completely trust me. Just consider this an act of good faith. You've got your little look alike and his big mouthed brat. Isn't that what you wanted? Your King is safe, for now, and I can get you inside information on Zorc's plan. You already know he's been trying to access your accounts. Accounts that I believe have been your responsibility if I'm not mistaken."

"How do you know all that?" Bakura growled.

"Ah-ah-ah… you know I don't give away all my secrets." He slowly reached into a drawer of the desk but put up his other hand to show it was just for a… a cell phone?

The Duke tossed the cell phone to the Theif who caught it in his empty hand.

"Give me a call if you change your mind." Duke said. "And you had better get out of here before Zorc finds out."

Bakura looked at the phone and then back to Otogi who had both hands up in a sign of surrender, "This doesn't mean I trust you."

Ryou and Rebecca were ushered down the stairs and back out of the building by Bakura who kept an eye behind them at all times and pointed them all in the direction of the Nile Hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 I feel it's my duty as a nurse to point this out: Smoking is pretty much the worst thing in the world you could do for your health, so please do not start and if you need help quitting please seek it out! Even hookah pipe's that aren't as tar filled still do leave deposits in the lungs as well as typically contain nicotine which is addictive. I love you all and want you to be healthy little mamas and papas so just say no :  
> 2 You're a pervert


	12. Isis' worry

Yugi felt the sweat roll down his forehead. Why did he have a bad feeling about this? Where did he know this lady from? They all moved forward into the room to take seats across from the four Egyptians. Yugi looked up into icy blue eyes staring back at him.

“Welcome Yugi,” Isis said in a calm tone, “I can see you’re remembering me, but aren’t sure where we’ve met.”

Yugi nodded, “Y-yeah I guess so…” He could picture seeing her face somewhere before but couldn't quite place it.

“We haven’t formally met. I’d imagine you must have seen me at the Egyptian exhibit in Tokyo a few years back.”

Yugi instantly remembered. The exhibit was a huge to-do when they brought some of the rarest artifacts to the Tokyo National Museum. He could remember seeing her face on the TV talking about the exhibit. He still couldn't shake the odd feeling he had. What was it making him so paranoid about this whole thing? Maybe it was just all Atemu’s hyping up the meeting that made him act so weird.

“Oh yeah, ha, I can’t believe I forgot.” Yugi said trying his best to grin it off, “Well—it’s nice to meet you formally then. I’m Yugi Motou.”

But then it occurred to Yugi… how did she know he had paid the exhibit any attention at all? Did she know him then? He decided not to ask.

“Isis Ishtar.” She responded in kind and turned her attention to Atemu, “Now, Pharaoh, it’s nice to see you after all this time. I know why you’ve come seeking my help.”

Yugi looked to Atemu. He remembered that Marik had called him that on the plane… but why did they call him Pharaoh?

“Yes, I had hoped you would.” Atemu said leaning back into the seat he had taken on a black leather couch.

Yugi stopped to ponder for a brief second what it was about black leather that attracted Atemu before realizing it was probably another ‘leave it alone’ topic.

“I can tell you it is someone outside la famiglia.” She said softly, “But I am afraid that dark magic is at work.”

Seto scoffed, “More like you don’t know who it is and can’t just come right out and say it.”

Atemu shot Seto a cold look, “Cousin.”

Seto rolled his eyes, “This we already knew. Bakura swore on it and said himself he’s switching around his employees to ensure it isn’t an internal thing.”

At that moment a knock came from the door and Mai stepped in.

“Sorry sugars… got a little distracted.” She flipped her long blond hair and took a seat next to Atemu and Seto.

“Welcome Mai,” Isis said, “You seem well.”

“Not shabby for having this shit hit the fan,” She smiled back.

Isis nodded and turned her attention back onto Seto who was still sitting, arms crossed, unimpressed.

“I understand you lack faith in my abilities Seto; however I do know one thing that I can tell you with one hundred percent accuracy.” She looked at Yugi, “You are all in danger.”

A chill seemed to creep through the room but it didn’t take long for Seto to stand straight up and stare down at Isis.

“I’ve had enough of this witch. Threatening the Kings like this. I won’t stand for it. If you have no information then don’t waste my time.” He grabbed Jou by the arm, who immediately began to protest, and dragged the blonde out through the golden doors, not bothering to close them on their way out.

Isis sighed, “He never does like meeting with me.”

Atemu nodded, “I know you don’t take it too personally, but I do apologize for my cousin’s behavior.”

“I don’t blame him.” Isis said, “He has never gotten over my prediction of his parent’s death… I know he is just too worried to believe. But, my Pharaoh, what I say is true. You’re all in danger. I have sensed that Zorc is not just merely after money, but something more devious. As I say, I believe it is he who is blocking my ability.”

Atemu nodded slowly, “Yes, I suppose it’s possible.”

Yugi frowned slightly and looked down at his hands to hide his expression, did Zorc have some sort of weird power too?

“Zorc is many things that you cannot understand, Yugi.” Isis said calmly.

Yugi’s eyes went wide and he looked up from his hands, “I—I uh… sorry? Did you? Did you just?”

Isis didn’t respond, but instead smiled sweetly at him, “I’m afraid my ‘weird powers’ are difficult to drown out at times, it is I who should apologize.”

Yugi shook his head as to forgive her but found it difficult to speak—or think for that matter.

**WVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWV**

Bakura, Ryou, and Rebecca walked through the streets of Cairo without stopping until they reached the Nile Hotel. Bakura wasn’t sure exactly what his plan was. He had his own room but didn’t look forward to sharing it with these two. However, he couldn’t exactly let them go after that whole shit fest. He was still mulling over what Otoji had said. His hand clasped around the phone in his pocket and he scowled. For one thing, he had reached a dead end on if someone had been able to infiltrate the Kings as one of his soldiers. The thought would eternally piss him off. Obviously they knew Zorc was the mastermind behind it the stronzo **1** . Otoji was likely his best lead but he didn't trust the guy. Anyone who wore that much goddamn eyeliner was questionable in Bakura's book. Regardless, he would have to make a choice on to trust him or not. He had let Rebecca go... but was he really after taking over Zorc's position or would he be better rewarded for tricking Bakura. He knew he had to run this by the Pharaoh first. Rebecca was chatting happily away to Ryou, as if her kidnapping had never happened.

"Seriously Ryou! You were fucking awesome back there!" Rebecca chimed.

Ryou's face was a bright pink hue while he stammered out a response. Bakura snickered as he considered that Rebecca at the age of approximately 14 had a far more advanced vocabulary than Ryou who was 4 years her senior... advanced in the way of sailors that is. He led the two towards the hotel and decided that they would just have to tag along until he could figure out what to do next. As they went through the streets he felt as though they were being watched. It unnerved him. And there was still that damn backpack... they were only a couple blocks from it now. He was just in the middle of wondered if he should call it into the ENP **2** when a thunderous explosion vibrated through his entire body. Before the shaking had stopped Bakura had knocked Rebecca and Ryou to the ground and was shielding them with his body. The two had an understandable fear plastered on their faces. Bakura cursed as he looked around. He was sure that was the fucking planted backpack and that would have been Ryou. They weren’t far from the hotel… Ryou would have been in the hotel when that went off. Bakura looked down into the deep chocolate eyes of Ryou who was currently scared shitless and cursed again. He picked himself up followed quickly by lifting Rebecca and Ryou off the ground and ushering them towards the hotel. He didn’t want to be seen in this area and the explosion would have been a dead give away to Zorc that his half-assed attempt to hurt any of the Kings had failed.

As they moved towards the hotel, Bakura heard a chiming from his pocket. Pulling out the gods damned phone that prick Otoji had given him he saw it read:

“1 New Message”

_ Close call, huh? _

Bakura turned the phone off. Fuck that guy and his stupid eyeliner.

**WVWVWVWVWVWVWVWVWV**

Isis grimaced. The explosion had been heard from inside the hotel. Atemu had ran to the window to look out. A good 40 square foot diameter was leveled maybe a half mile from the hotel. He knew that wasn’t an accident. Atemu’s crimson gaze found Isis’s blue.

“My Pharaoh, I’m begging you to listen to me.”

Atemu nodded, “What should we do?”

Isis closed her eyes, in deep thought she hummed slightly and suddenly opened her eyes “Bakura… he’s close. He has an answer of sorts. This could be our chance to take the advantage.” She looked towards the door. “He’ll be in the lobby.”

Atemu nodded and began to walk toward the exit. Yugi watched as he went, but before Atemu left he looked back at Yugi and gave him a look which told Yugi instantly that he was meant to follow. Yugi gave a quick traditional bow towards Isis before following after the King. They made their way down towards the main entrance of the hotel. As they entered the large lobby area so did Bakura with Ryou and Rebecca in tow. Bakura instantly spotted Atemu with Yugi and bee lined for the duo.

“Meeting. Now.” Bakura growled.

Atemu cocked an eyebrow but nodded. Not that he wasn’t used to Bakura’s attitude but he had a lot to explain. Atemu noticed Ryou… he was one of their “immersion students” before, wasn’t he? And then there was Rebecca…

“King!” Rebecca smiled, “How’s it hanging?”

Atemu smiled back, “Why am I not surprised to see you in the midst of all this trouble?”

“Ouch…” Her smile lingered, “I know you missed me.”

Ryou looked incredulously between the two and blurted out, “You know each other?” 

Atemu turned his gaze to Ryou who visibly flinched under the weight of his stare.

Rebecca answered first, “I did a couple, ah, errands, for the Kings a while back.” 

Bakura interjected, “Not that this isn’t a touching reunion but let’s get our asses in gear here. There was just the tiny, insignificant matter of the attack on your life, Atemu… Egypt isn’t as safe as it once was for you.”

Atemu nodded with a smirk, “A miniscule detail really.”

Bakura rolled his eyes, started texting Seto, and headed towards the VIP section of the hotel where the group had been staying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 Italian for "asshole" - keepin' it classy up in this fic.  
> 2 Egyptian National Police(ENP)


	13. Bakura is Different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of where I began to feel more excited about the story and where it was going so the writing in my opinion improves a lot. Please enjoy!

Yugi had been sent off with Rebecca and Ryou like a child while the adults did the talking. They had been left in Atemu and Yugi’s room while the others adjourned in Seto’s room. Jou had sulked behind the trio, not at all happy about being put into  _ kid _ status. He kicked the door shut behind them.

“Again… aaaah, what ta’ hell. I’ve given my loyalty but this is what we get? Hah!” The blonde stared at a spot on the floor and kicked his foot out in frustration.

Yugi smiled apologetically to Jou, he could tell it bugged him to be left out, “You’re really a loyal person, Jou… everyone knows it. I’m sure Atemu has his reasons...”

Jou smiled up at Yugi, “Yeah, I’m sure you’re right Yug’. He’s not a bad guy, he’s just gotta look out for the good of ta’ family is all.” 

Yugi gave Jou a pat on the shoulder and went over to join Ryou and Rebecca. Ryou looked up at Yugi, a bewildered look was on the albino haired boy’s face.

“Yugi-kun… what-what is going on? How did  _ you _ get involved in this mess?”

Yugi laughed, “I could ask  _ you _ the same thing!”

Ryou’s face relaxed a little, “Well… it’s a long story… but I suppose we’ve got time for it.” 

He sighed, “Rebecca is the real reason I’m  _ here _ but to be honest I had a run in with the Kings about 4 months ago and they kind of coerced me into helping them. I had no idea at the time that I’d find out Rebecca had been doing side jobs for them...”

Yugi’s jaw dropped, “Wait-wait… Rebecca??”   
The girl gave a cheeky grin, “What can I say? I was doing a competition for my school and got noticed for my computer skills! Kaiba Corp has an eye for talent. I didn’t really know at first they were also connected to the Mafia but it turned out to be excellent money  _ and _ I got to travel! It helps that it's just me and Grandpa too. He thinks it's great! Of course the details are all excluded when I talk about the Kaiba's Corp Junior Genius program.” Rebecca winked knowingly.

Yugi guffawed at the situation in front of him and could only shake his head at the 14 year old… whether Yugi was more in an awe of admiration or complete disbelief he wasn’t sure himself. Jou put his hands on his hips and leaned way forward, squinting at the girl. Rebecca smiled.

“Aw Jou, don’t say you’ve forgotten me!” Rebecca reached up and hugged around Jou’s neck.

Jou cringed and pulled away, “Yeah, yeah, ya pipsqueak! I remember ya! Couldn’t forget if I wanted ta’! I just can’t believe you're still hangin’ round wit us that’s all. Ain’t ya supposed to have gone off to that big shot private school in the fall?”

Rebecca laughed and let go of his neck, “I am in that  _ big shot _ private school, thank you very much! I didn’t willingly get kidnapped!”

Jou laughed and scratched the tip of his nose, “Ah yea… guess that explains it…”

The group laughed. Yugi smiled. The laughter warmed his heart. This must be what having real friends was like…

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Bakura placed the phone gingerly on the table like it might burst. Atemu’s gaze went down to the phone, then up to Bakura.

“Otogi wants to be more than just friends, huh?” He asd, brow lifted in surprise.

Bakura sighed, “You could put it that way. I don’t know what to make of it.”   
“Well I don’t trust any man prettier than me.” Mai said flippantly, “I don’t think trusting any of them would be wise at this point.”

“I’d agree with that,” Seto nodded, eyes closed, leaning against a cabinet, “Otogi never warned us about that bomb the kid was carrying just moments before. Seems like more than just forgetting a minor detail. And that smart ass text he sent after the explosion doesn’t help his case.”

Bakura scowled, “What other options do we have here? Not to overstep any bounds but we’re up against a wall. They know where we’re at and what we’re up to. How else did they follow us to Egypt? If they had just a few more resources, we’d probably be dead.”

Zorc’s gang wasn’t as notorious and not nearly as well organized as the Kings, but in all honesty, Fuyu was likely the second top “gang” in Japan. The Kings ran as a proper mafioso, Fuyu was nothing more than a street gang that got bigger than they could handle. The only other gang in the area had been La Protêt…  _ had  _ being the key word after what the Three Kings did to them when they tried to push their buttons. Seto made a personal appearance to that particular eradication but luckily avoided the news. Mai always knew the right people to make sure the top members never had their pictures plastered on the 5 o’clock news.

Atemu rubbed his furrowed brow and thought about what Isis said. This may be the answer that the Kings needed. Maybe aligning with Otogi could help them in the long run. Having a street gang that owed them would be ideal. They would have to tread carefully though. That bomb obviously wasn’t the first attempt on one of their lives but it certainly was rather sloppy. And sometimes sloppy was even more dangerous.

“We’ll work with him.” Atemu said firmly.

“Atemu,” Mai looked like she wanted to debate the decision but hesitated and sighed instead, “Yes… King.”

Seto also had a disapproving look but nodded. He knew his cousin. Not only was the King’s word law but if his mind was made up even more so then there was no point in arguing.

“Pharaoh…” Bakura sighed, “What do we do now?”

Atemu closed his eyes in thought, “Well, we better give Otogi a buzz.”

All eyes went to the phone sitting innocently on the table in the middle of the room.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Marik and Malik sat together across from Isis. Her icy stare boring into them. Marik wiggled uncomfortably in his seat trying to look anywhere but into his sister’s eyes. Malik’s harsh stare however didn’t hesitate to meet the blue depths dead on. 

“Honestly sis, what’s gotten into you. Sitting us down like we’re 8 years old again and scolding us?” Malik smirked.

Isis didn’t affect the darker of the twins like the lighter. Isis lifted her chin ever so slightly, stare unwavering.

“Malik, I know you think you’re invincible… and I can’t exactly see what you’re up to, but believe me, do not cross the Pharaoh whatever you’re doing.”

Malik laughed, cold and hard, “Please sis’… I can’t believe  _ you _ of all people would imply that  _ I  _ would ever dare cross his  _ majesty _ …”

Marik threw a sidelong glance at Malik. Isis didn’t miss the look.

“Marik, the same warning applies to you.”

Marik’s eyes shot to finally meet Isis’s, “I’m not involved in any part of this bullshit going on. You know we wouldn’t throw away what we’ve worked for. And we certainly wouldn’t do it by stealing money from la Famiglia.”

Isis looked between the two, “Mai brought me a very interesting story regarding the two of you to me. She’s caught you Marik whispering with Bakura. And she said that both of you seemed to be acting… differently.”

“Mai’s just micromanaging.” Malik dismissed with a defensive scowl fixed on his face.

“Just watch it, brothers. You can choose to not to reveal things to me but it's not without consequence. I can’t always see what’s going to happen to you in enough time to give you warning when you do this. And the only reason I would is because you’re family. Otherwise I’d let the Pharaoh know my suspicions.”

Malik lip curled and he growled, “Hag…”

Marik elbowed Malik hard. Malik rolled his eyes. He wasn’t going to sit there and be threatened. He abruptly stood up to leave the room without another word. Marik looked at his older sister apologetically who only sighed and shook her head slightly. The lighter twin jogged lightly after his darker half. Isis knew they were hiding something but didn’t truly believe they’d purposely doing anything against the Three Kings. But she didn’t know why Malik would block her out. 

When Marik caught up to Malik out in the hallway the lighter grabbed the darker’s arm to get him to stop his fast paced “ticked off” strut.

“You know what she’s picking up on and I know you’re blocking her.” Marik was pouting through his accusation.

Malik looked down at his nose at his lighter half and sneered unapologetically. Malik had the ability to block out his sister from his own mind and his twin brother’s. When they were younger it was the perfect way to hide mischief from her.

“It’s none of her goddamn business what we do.” 

Marik let go of Malik’s arm and took a step back, “She might be able to help us… give us advice--”

Malik charged towards Malik and flattened him against the wall. They were nose to nose. Marik shut his eyes tightly and his breath hitched. He squirmed slightly.

“She doesn’t need to know.” Malik grabbed the younger twin’s wrist and pulled him closer, “No one does. No one will understand us.”

Marik shook his head and opened his eyes glancing up and down the hallway to make sure they were alone before relaxing into the embrace, “Bakura didn’t care…” he offered meekly.

“Bakura is different,” Malik sighed, “He doesn’t give a shit about anything.”

Marik couldn’t help but grin at the truth behind that remark. He looked into Malik’s almost identical eyes. Identical in color but so much more harsh than his own. Malik’s face was completely serious. Marik’s grin faded and his eyes drifted towards the older’s mouth. He took his free wrist and placed his hand on his brother’s chest.

“I just don’t want this to have to be some huge secret…” Marik said quietly.

Malik cupped Marik’s face surprisingly gently. The lighter always brought out just a little bit of the decent side of himself.

“I just can’t explain it Marik… I don’t want the others to know. I don’t want this to affect our role in the Kings. I don’t want us to lose everything we’ve worked so fucking hard for. Our reputation in la Famiglia and the fear that others have for us… you know that’s important. If people start to see us differently...” Malik sighed and rested his forehead against his twin’s forehead, “Can you just trust me on this?”

Marik frowned, “The King would understand… maybe…”

The yami pulled his lighter half closer, “Maybe... one day...”

**IVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Ryuji Otogi walked the streets of Egypt admiring the sights as the sun began to set. What an exciting day for him… kidnapping, coercion, explosions… all in one day! He caught a couple women staring at him from a cafe and winked. They instantly blushed and looked away, chattering excitedly. He smirked… at least some things never changed no matter what country he was in. The cellphone he had given Bakura had a sole sister that he kept in his pocket. He wasn’t completely shocked that he hadn’t heard anything from the Thief King. That text probably  _ was _ a little too cheeky for its own good…

‘ _ Or I should say for  _ my  _ own good…’ _ Ryuji sighed. 

He was just sick of the bullshit he put up with from Zorc. The Three Kings weren’t just dicking around when it came to business. The King didn’t take bullshit, was a natural leader, and even more so, he wasn’t a creep like Zorc. The King could demand respect with a glance. Zorc just made you feel slimy... 

Ryuji knew he was pushing his luck by betraying Zorc. He was relying on on his few years of experience in Fuyu to get away with this. He doubted that Zorc himself would catch on. That prick was too absorbed in his own power that he didn’t see the potential of Fuyu. For Christ’s sake, Zorc honestly didn’t think that the King wouldn’t catch on to them funneling assets? And bringing that loser Gelbeck to such a highly important meeting where carisma could have sailed them under the King’s radar… now they were a big fat target. They could have more than a bunch of wild dogs shooting people up just for kicks if there was an ounce of true leadership. The Fuyu would end up just like La Protêt if they weren’t careful. 

Ryuji rounded a corner to face a small hotel along the city outskirts. The light on the sign out front clicked on and buzzed gently as he walked by. He passed through the lobby and headed up the dingy stairs. Pulling out his room key, he entered. He flipped on the light and looked around the small room. Everything had a weird 70s-era-America orange color look to it. This hotel had somehow managed to avoid being updated in at least 50 years. He’d nuke his own face if the retro wood grain microwave managed to work... 

He sighed, _ ‘Home shit home… for now…’ _

The phone in his pocket began to buzz, he pulled it out and checked the number. Grinning, he answered.

“I was beginning to worry you were gonna stand me up.”

“Can it before I break the phone and tell Zorc you’re even speaking to us.” Bakura’s voice came through the line flatly, “The King has decided to trust you for now, but I swear to you, fuck us over and you’re a dead man.”

Otogi chuckled into the receiver, “Don’t worry, I’m in this for what you’d consider the ‘right’ reasons. That being purely selfish.”

“Good. Then fess up. How is the money getting by us.”

“Woah there bessie…” Ryugi thought he could hear Bakura’s eye twitch, “I’m not handing over the juicy details over the phone and certainly not until I’ve had some sort of… insurance, for my help.”

Bakura’s low growl came through the phone, “Watch it pretty boy or you’ll only get killed fast instead of slow as your  _ reward… _ ”

Otogi grinned, he knew the money had been coming out under Bakura’s watch and was just having too much fun teasing him.

“Alright, settle down. So how about tomorrow? 10 am? The bazaar?”

“Khan el-Khalili…” Bakura paused, likely relaying to his boss for the a-okay, “Sure.”

“Wear something nice for me will you?” Otogi quipped.

The phone beeped as the call was ended.


	14. Cold Shower

Bakura had to use every ounce of self control not to chuck the phone across the room after hanging up.

“That goddamn…” He trailed off.

Atemu clasped his shoulder, “It will be OK. Get the information we need. Otogi could be a great asset to the Kings one day.”

“Understood.” Bakura turned but before he left Seto stopped him by stepping in front of the door.

“Bakura… those new additions can stay in your room.”

Bakura rolled his eyes, not that he was shocked his prediction came true of them staying in his room… but it still sucked, “I have to go meet with Otogi  _ and _ I have to babysit? Isn’t the girl a little young to be sharing a room with anyone?”

“Why? Certainly you’re not a threat. And Ryou is her cousin isn’t he? I’m sure he’d be the best person to look out for her.” Kaiba’s tone was final and he stepped aside to let Bakura through.

Bakura glared but didn’t bother fighting. He just wanted to go to bed… the jet lag was starting to make his head buzz. Bakura went across the hall and opened the door to find the four mismatched crew of tagalongs sitting together, drinking tea, laughing… 

“What is this… the fucking Brady Bunch?” Bakura said flatly as he paused and put his hand on his hip taking in the irony of the whole thing. 

“About time!” Jou stood up eagerly, “What’s ta plan?”

Kaiba stepped into the door behind Jou, “I don’t think so, mutt… let’s go.”

Jou pouted but followed along obediently as he waved goodbye to his new friends.

Bakura dismally explained to Ryou and Rebecca that they would be staying in his room. Rebecca seemed excited about a “sleep over” and she and Ryou headed out with Bakura. Atemu slipped into the room just as the two were leaving. Yugi’s face suddenly felt incredibly warm. 

They were alone again…

Atemu glanced at his look-alike before heading towards the fridge, “Are you hungry?”

Yugi shook his head, he and the others had ordered room service. Jou wouldn’t let them just sit around starving but the others wouldn't let Jou cook them all dinner when they were on what felt like a vacation (if you can call 3 out of 4 people being technically brought somewhere against their will a ‘vacation’). Yugi felt guilty about eating knowing that Atemu hadn't had the chance to. Atemu however was relieved to know Yugi had been taken care of.

“Good.” Crimson eyes softened into a smile.

Yugi’s heart thumped in his chest. How was he going to manage to not die of a heart attack being alone with such a handsome--

‘Dangerous’ Yugi reminded himself. ‘Gods why does that just seem to make him even more attractive?’

Atemu pulled out the hummus dish from the fridge and then grabbed some pitas from a cabinet. They always had the place stocked perfectly for his visits. The hotel owner and Atemu’s father had been good friends. Atemu took his food and headed towards the door to the room’s private balcony.

“If you'd like…” Atemu hesitated, he wasn't used to feeling so damn shy, “You're welcome to join me outside. This room has the best view of the pyramids in the entire city.”

Yugi smiled, “Sure!”

Thinking about seeing the pyramids, even from a distance, shook away some of Yugi’s nerves. He hadn't got a chance to check out the balcony yet. Atemu opened the French style doors and left them wide open to let in the comfortably warm night breeze. There were mosquito nets that he put down to prevent any unwanted bugs getting into the room and then held one net aside to let Yugi pass through. Yugi thanked him and tried to not be such a creeper when he walked by and got a whiff of Atemu’s cologne. As Yugi passed by, his gaze went up towards the skyline and his breath hitched. The Great Pyramid of Giza… there was almost an aura coming from it and the smaller two. Yugi was stunned for a minute. There room was positioned perfectly along the Nile to see Giza sparkling and the pyramids just on the horizon. There was definitely something magical about this place. Atemu led the way to a couple lounge chairs that were situated next to a private plunge pool surrounded by all sorts of different kinds of palms. Yugi was speechless.

“What do you think?” Atemu asked smiling at the wonder in Yugi’s amethyst eyes.

“It’s amazing…” Yugi blurted out, “They're like magic.”

Yugi was embarrassed when Atemu chuckled, realizing how naive he must sound. But, when Yugi looked at him sitting on the lounge chair, stretched out and relaxed, all thoughts of pyramids flew from his head and instead his thoughts were replaced with ‘gods on earth.’

Atemu waved to the chair next to him, “Take a seat.”

Yugi gulped but obliged, taking a seat next to Atemu. There was a comfortable silence for a moment as Yugi tried to pretend that he was focused on the pyramids again and not on the incredibly hot--

‘DANGEROUS MOB BOSS!’ His inner conscious chimed.

Yugi’s face felt flushed again as he began to wonder how long they would be together like this. He had no idea what they were planning on doing or how long they would even stay here. Yugi wondered if Atemu had some of Isis’s ability when he began to speak about the next day...

“I'll likely stay in the area tomorrow, Yugi. But I don't know if it would be a good idea for you to go with me. I'm also concerned about you going anywhere by yourself.” Atemu’s eyes darkened taking Yugi by surprise, “Yugi… Promise me you won't go wandering off by yourself… Not until we get everything taken care of.”

Yugi felt a little intimidated by the crimson, unwavering gaze. He nodded and just as soon as he nodded, Atemu’s eyes softened. 

“Good… I--,” Atemu cleared his throat, “It would be detrimental if you were to be captured. I don't want to even think about what they'd do to you...”

Yugi visibly shivered and Atemu reached out to touch Yugi’s hand, the sudden contact of skin making the younger boy gasp. Atemu instantly retreated and Yugi cursed himself for reacting the way he did.

“I'm sorry,” Atemu said gently, looking away from Yugi, “I don't want to scare you. I'm only concerned.”

Yugi leaned forward off the back of the chair, “Please! Don't be sorry… I should be sorry… You're going through more trouble than I'm worth to you I am sure. I don't want to be a bother. I won't leave, I don't want you to have to worry.”

This time, Yugi reached for Atemu’s hand, surprised by his own courage. Atemu’s eyes widened and locked onto Yugi’s. He felt a damn dumb fool staring at the boy. He wanted nothing more than to lean forward and taste those soft looking lips. Yugi’s heart was pounding as he looked into the red deep pools of Atemu’s irises. Those eyes... and soft tanned skin, the seriousness in his gaze, like Atemu had seen a thousand life times. Atemu squeezed Yugi’s hand and suddenly gave him a sad smile.

“I don't think I could not worry about you Yugi…. You're too damn incoccent for your own good.” Atemu looked down to their hands and gently played with Yugi’s fingers in his own. “I feel obligated to protect you. I guess it's difficult to explain...”

Yugi blushed. Earlier in the market they were holding hands, but they hadn't interlaced their fingers. He was surprised at how comfortable his hand was in the darker’s palm. Atemu let out a sigh.

“It's probably best we go to bed soon.” He sounded reluctant.

Yugi certainly felt reluctant to reply but managed to get out “I suppose,” just before letting out a rather large yawn.

He quickly covered his mouth and rubbed a small tear from his eye that had formed with the intensity of his yawn. Atemu laughed.

“Too innocent,” Atemu repeated between chuckles as he leaned forward and placed his lips ever so gently on Yugi’s cheek before whispering gently into Yugi’s ear, “and too damn cute…”

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Yugi’s heart was pounding as he got into his bed. Atemu had… Had kissed him?! I mean sure, just the cheek... but then he also called him _cute??_ It had been the first time he didn't feel insulted or teased by being called ‘cute.’

Yugi was sure he made a fool of himself in the way he stuttered absolute gibberish trying to make a complete sentence after the yami of the two pulled away. Atemu had only laughed, but there was a sorrow in his eyes. He led Yugi back inside and had wished him a good night with a gentle squeeze of Yugi’s hand… and Yugi stood their, absolutely dumbfounded. He finally made his way into his room but he wasn't quite sure how he got his brain to function.

Now as he laid in bed he wondered how Atemu was feeling. Regardless of him saying Yugi was cute… What did it mean? Yugi couldn't let himself believe that the Don had any real feelings for him. It wasn't possible, right? After all Atemu was a god among men. Filthy rich but gorgeous and despite running a crime syndicate, pretty kind as well. Fair… Loyal...

Yugi couldn't remember falling asleep, but he did remember seeing a certain pair of eyes in his dreams all night.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Atemu woke up, it was still dark. He felt someone moving on the bed beside him and instantly reached for the gun under his pillow but the small hand on his waist stopped him. He looked up, it was just light enough for him to make out Yugi’s hair and amethyst eyes. His pale skin was translucent. 

“What are you doing, Yugi? Are you ok?” Atemu asked slightly alarmed.

Atemu couldn't tell what time it was. Everything seemed a little fuzzy as his brain tried to process what was going on.

Yugi smiled sweetly at him, “I couldn't sleep… Can I sleep with you?” 

Atemu instantly felt the blush in his cheeks and the fire in his loins. Why was this happening to him. He was trying, Ra  _ knows _ he was  _ trying _ , to stay away from the amethyst eyed boy. Yugi was so innocent, so pure… Yugi could have a normal life… and Atemu was just so fucking tainted.

“Yugi--I…”

Before Atemu could finish Yugi had locked lips with the King whose red eyes grew with shock. Feeling Yugi’s soft lips against his own woke something in Atemu and the pharaoh wrapped his arms around the younger, pulling him in deep. Their bodies melted together, Yugi splayed atop of the elder and sighing ever so lightly as he felt Atemu’s obvious bulge. Atemu lifted Yugi quickly and pulled the covers away so that there was nothing between them but their pesky pajamas. Yugi was only wearing pajama pants and Atemu admired his small frame. So deliciously delicate. He flipped Yugi down onto the mattress and captured his lips, tongue diving into Yugi’s waiting mouth. Atemu growled, he  _ needed _ Yugi.

But there was something beeping in the background. It was getting louder as Atemu began to grind into Yugi, sucking on his neck and running his hands over the smaller lithe frame. The beeping got louder and now there was sun in Atemu’s eyes.

He groaned as his eyes opened… A  _ dream. _

Atemu had never had a wet dream quite like that. His groin was very uncomfortable given the slight mess he'd made. He slammed off the beeping alarm, giving it a disgusted look. He wasn't sure how he could face Yugi after a dream like that. He figured he could start with a nice cold shower...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Laughs in authoress


	15. Chapter 15

The morning light streamed through the windows. Zorc sat stirring his coffee and looking around at the people sitting in the small cafe. Most people avoided looking at him, his dark hair and dark skin wasn’t that unusual. The people in the region were usd to their darker skinned neighbors, but… those teeth. He had sunglasses on to hide his eyes and caught a few people openly staring. A man with long white hair entered the cafe and looked around, almost instantly spotting Zorc. The white haired man held up a hand and waved in a manner almost akin to a school girl as he nearly skipped over to the table. Pegasus J. Crawford had to be the single most flamboyant person Zorc had ever met.

“Zorc! You look absolutely frigid sitting here all by yourself!” Pegasus grabbed onto Zorc’s right hand with both of his own and shook it enthusiastically, “It’s so good to see you again!”

Zorc managed a sharp-toothed smile and waved his left hand to the chair next to him, “Please, Pegasus, have a seat. It’s good to see you as well.”

Zorc viewed Pegasus as a necessary ally. Pegasus was wealthy, influential, and most importantly, he was easily manipulated.

“I was soooo~ excited to hear you’d be visiting Egypt!” Pegasus sat next to Zorc and pulled the chair in almost uncomfortably close to the dark man.

Zorc kept his smile in check, “Just thought I’d come and check in….”

The waiter came over and Pegasus fumbled through his order. He’d been in Egypt about a year now but never bothered truly learning much of the Arabic dialect spoken in the area.

Zorc started up the conversation when the waiter had left, “I trust you’ve been doing well out here?”

Pegasus’s eyes lit up, “Oh definitely! They’re taking to the Duel Monsters game beautifully out this way! I’m hoping to get a major tournament going on right in Cairo soon~!”

“That’s fantastic.” Zorc feigned enthusiasm for as long as he could tolerate while Pegasus talked about the success he’d been having with his business.

After a while though, Zorc had decided to get down to business.

“Pegasus,” He laced the name with admiration, “You’ve been a dear friend to me… and I know you’ve already done so much--”

“Oh posh!” Pegasus cut him off, a smile on his face as he soaked up the flattery, “Just spit it out!”

“I was wondering if I could ask you a favor?”

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Bakura walked through the streets towards the bazaar. He hadn’t slept well last night considering Rebecca thought it was great fun to keep trying to get them to  _ talk _ about absolutely nothing important until the wee hours of the morning. It made him scowl just remembering it. That kid, Ryou, was just a pushover the whole time. Letting Rebecca incessantly ask him about how school was going, if he had a girlfriend yet, if he was going to cut his hair, if he liked her new glasses, if he would braid her hair in the morning, if they could go see the pyramids when Bakura was done… ugh. Thinking about it  _ almost _ worse than thinking about the man whore he was going to meet in the bazaar in a few minutes. At least that kid Ryou wasn’t half bad to look at… he wondered for a minute if that was narcissistic considering how similar they looked. Rebecca had brought that particular fact up a few times. Bakura sighed and thought about the task at hand.

‘ _ I swear… if the Pharaoh hadn’t save my ass more times than I could count when we were here last time then I would have thrown that god damn phone at his head and told him to come here by himself. Otogi is just so…’  _ He rounded a corner and saw the devil himself standing at a stall with a very pretty girl, playing with her hair and giving her the most sultry stare his green eyes could muster, ‘ _ gods he’s just such a  _ fuck _ boy _ . _ ’ _

Ryuji looked up and his eyes met Bakura’s and he smiled like they were great friends, waving and heading his way, saying a quick goodbye to the girl who looked altogether confused and dazed watching him walk away from her.

“Hey! Just the man I was hoping to see.” 

Ryuji was getting too close for Bakura’s liking. If they hadn’t been in a busy market place with the ENP on high alert he would have pulled out his 9 mm right then and there. Bakura instead held out an arm and put a hand on the green eyed man’s chest to stop him from doing whatever it was he was about to do… from the looks of it, Ryuji had been coming in to hug Bakura and Bakura would be  _ damned _ if this asshat touched him.

“Look. I’m not here to play nice. That’s the King’s job is to be  _ agreeable _ and make  _ allies _ . I’m just here to get the information we need.” Bakura gave a shove to Otogi’s chest to push him back a few inches. “But, I don’t come empty handed.”

Bakura pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Otogi who opened it rather cautiously.

“Don’t worry, I would have told you if it was a bomb  _ before _ it exploded…” Bakura quipped.

Ryuji rolled his eyes, “Not still sore about that little misunderstanding are we?”

He opened the paper to find a generous sum written on it. Smiling, he cocked his head in the direction of the most crowded aisle of stalls and began to walk. Bakura followed reluctantly.

“Well, seems to me like we have the start of a  _ beautiful _ friendship ahead of us.”   
“Don’t push it.”

Otogi grinned, “Let’s see Bakura… once our little problem is out of the way and I’m the man in charge, maybe I’ll ask the King to send you to come and visit me.”

Bakura rolled his eyes, “Big words for someone who isn’t guaranteed anything.”

Otogi dipped to the left suddenly and entered a small hookah bar. There was a small store front with a patio in the back. He stopped at the counter to order and went to the patio to pick out a table. Bakura twitched his nose as they entered. Damn it had been too long since he’d had a cigarette but he guessed this would have to do  **1** . Bakura sat at the small table next to Otogi. The little patio was empty being so early in the day. There was also little noise from the street back here so it was easy to talk softly. Bakura settled into the cushioned seat and looked expectantly at the green eyed man next to him.

“All things to those who wait…” Otog grinned.

Bakura frowned in response, “I’m not a patient man.”

“That’s what makes you so much fun to string along!”

Their hookah pipe was brought out by the person who had taken Otogi’s order inside. There were two hoses, each man taking a hose and thanking the waiter in Arabic. Bakura eyed the thing, hoping that Otogi hadn’t picked some weird flavor. He brought the pipe to his lips and drew in. The coal on top lit up red. The flavor wasn't horrible at least. Minty. He puffed out a large cloud of smoke into the air. Otogi took his time taking a long draw and blowing out a large cloud of white and then sighed back into his seat.

“Alright, I guess I’ve had enough fun.” Ryuji sat back, twiddling with the end of the pipe.

Bakura sat as patiently as he could, trying to not think of the ways he could strangle Otogi with the hose of the hookah.

“Zorc mentioned a new acquaintance who was getting us into the computer systems at Kaiba Corp. From there, it was easy to find the link to your extortion rings.” 

Bakura’s eyes narrowed. 

He wasn’t going to let this asshole get under his skin, “Go on.”

“You’ve seen how Zorc can influence people… well I think this person must have some past with your King. Some grudge. He goes by Mahado. Heard of him?”

Bakura almost choked on the drag he was pulling into his lungs.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Atemu stepped out of the shower feeling a little more level headed after he had cleaned up. The crimson eyed Don was not used to having such a reaction to one person. Yugi was too damn cute. Atemu never really had a relationship in the past. He had a few men in his life previously, not boyfriends per say, more of just fuck buddies. Women had always thrown themselves at Yami but he had always been attracted to men. Regardless of gender, none had ever made his heart pound like Yugi did. And his last “relationship” was years ago now… back when he was a little more immature and a little less understanding of his responsibilities as King. Falling into a lot of power doesn’t always do good to a person, especially when that person is a 16 year old boy. He had made some mistakes, but luckily Seto was there. Seto never seemed to be easily influenced and Atemu had always secretly wondered if the brunette was asexual until the day he saw Seto see Jou for the first time. That was only the second time Atemu had ever seen his cousin blush. Just remembering it made Atemu smile. While he tried to maintain his distant mob boss mentality, he really did have a romantic side to him...

Atemu walked to his room from the bathroom. Yugi’s door was still shut. Atemu briefly worried that he had come on too strong last night. The tan skinned man went to his room and dressed in his signature black leather. He pulled the gun that had been stashed under his pillow and slipped it into his side holster. When he exited he decided to make a small breakfast. He hoped Yugi would wake soon. He was planning on meeting with Seto this morning and didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye. Atemu pulled a few eggs out to scramble and flipped on the coffee maker. He had considered ordering room service to bring something more extravagant up for Yugi but wasn’t sure what the smaller boy would like. While letting the pan heat up, Atemu grabbed the room service menu and decided to order one of the breakfasts with a little bit of everything on it for Yugi. He finished preparing his food and sat down at the white kitchen table to eat. When he was just about done, there was a knock on the front door. Atemu got up and peered through. The cart with Yugi’s breakfast was outside in the hall. Atemu carefully opened the door and brought the tray inside. He pondered if Yugi would be awake soon… not wanting the food to get cold, Atemu decided to bring it to Yugi in bed. The Pharaoh walked over to Yugi’s door and knocked gently. There was no answer. Now Atemu was worried. He gently pushed the door to open it, holding his breath the whole time. But he exhaled in relief when he saw the younger boy fast asleep. Yugi’s mouth was wide open, his one arm thrown up over top his head, and his legs though short as they were, were splayed as far out over the king sized bed as they could go. Atemu let out a chuckle and made his way to the side of Yugi’s bed. He pulled over a tray and set the food on top of it.

“Yugi…” he said gently, trying not to scare the boy again.

There was no response but Yugi’s light snore. A flash of Atemu’s dream went through his head. He reached up slowly to push a piece of Yugi’s bangs out of his face and felt himself blush. He leaned down slowly, carefully. And then pulled away. He wished it wasn’t so hard or him to keep away. Yugi suddenly snort/coughed awake and bright amethyst eyes met crimson. 

Yugi startled awake looking into the same crimson eyes he had dreamed about all night long. He could instantly feel his face flush under the older boy’s gaze. His heart thudded steadily but quickly in his chest. He thought about last night. Atmeu’s soft lips on his cheek. The smell of Atemu’s hair. The firmness of his hands…

“Ah… good morning, Yugi.” Atemu’s eyes looked so sad.

“G-good morning.” Yugi said shyly in return.

“Sorry to wake you,” Atemu said softly, “But I didn’t want your breakfast to get cold.”

Atemu motioned to the covered plate next to the bed. Yugi blushed and propped himself up onto his elbows.

“You didn’t have to do that…” They fell into a small silence.

“You should eat.” Atemu moved the plate in front of Yugi as Yugi sat up straight, “I’ll be meeting with Seto this morning just across the hall. It shouldn’t be too long. I’d imagine Ryou and Rebecca could use some company if you wanted to go to their room when you were done, or you’re welcome to relax here… just please don’t leave the hotel.”

Yugi nodded. Atemu stood up to leave the room but Yugi found himself reach out and grab the taller’s hand to stop him.

“S-stay with me? Just a little longer?” Yugi couldn’t look him in the eye as he asked.

Atemu smiled softly and gripped Yugi’s slender fingers, “Sure…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 Smoking is bad for you, mmkay?


	16. Childhood Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The italic words are flashbacks!

Atemu had reluctantly left Yugi after he finished his breakfast, promising that it wouldn’t take long to meet with Seto.

“ _ Just going over numbers. _ ’ Atemu had smiled when he offered that explanation of the meeting to Yugi... but he didn’t miss the look that Yugi gave to the gun strapped to his side.

Atemu now sat across from said brunette, having a very difficult time concentrating on the said numbers being displayed on the laptop screen.

“It’s just odd--like this person knows where to pull funds…” Seto looked over to the glazed over Crimson eyes, “Atemu?”   
“Yes. Sorry.” He blinked the fog out of his eyes and nodded at Seto to go on.

Seto however, shut the laptop and faced Atemu.

“What?” Atemu asked.

“Exactly.” Seto stated flatly, “Tell me what happened.”

Atemu’s eyes rolled up to the ceiling, “What happened to not talking about feelings?”

Seto wasn’t fazed, “I need you to be focused on this. If that means  _ talking _ it out then just tell me what the hell has got you so distracted. Please tell me you didn’t scar Yugi for life. If he’s a liability I should know.”

Atemu’s face flatted, “I did  _ not _ scar him. I think….”

“Jesus, just tell me.”

Atemu worried his bottom lip before explaining to Seto that he had kissed Yugi’s cheek and called him cute, to his face, and then… had a dream…

“OK. Enough detail.” Seto held up a hand, “I get the picture.”   
“But then this morning, he didn’t want me to leave. I mean… that’s a good sign right?”

“Well, duh. Look… I had a feeling you’d be…  _ odd _ about coming clean about your feelings so I mentioned to Jou that he could potentially be a catalyst for your relationship.”   
“You  _ WHAT _ ?” Atemu nearly fell over in his chair.

“Look, Jou’s not a total dumbass, and he can sometimes be clever about these things.”

“You know I love Jou, but he is the furthest thing from clever…”

“Watch it--”

“I don’t doubt his heart isn’t in the right place, Kaiba, but I’m concerned that he’ll be a little  _ too _ obvious about… whatever he thinks he’s going to do...” Atemu held his head in his hands.

He did really love Jou, who was a great friend to Atemu and obviously good for Seto, but so help him if this just turned into an awkward trip and scaring Yugi away… He decided not to think about that anymore.

“Alright. Good talk. Back to business.” Seto said when he saw the look in Atemu’s eyes change.

Atemu sighed and sat up straight, prepared to listen.

There was a knock at the door a few moments later and Seto gave the door the hardest side eye he could. The door opened and Bakura came in. The look in his eyes was positively furious.

“How did it go?” Atemu asked.

“Well good, but you’re not going to like who is screwing us…” 

Atemu leaned forwarded expectantly, “Well?”

“Gods I don’t even want to say it…” Bakura gnashed his teeth.

“Out with it…” Seto’s eyes narrowed coldly.

“It’s Mahado.” Bakura said, no explanation needed.

The temperature in the room dropped 10 degrees.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Yugi had decided after getting ready for the day that he would join Ryou and Rebecca. Reaching Bakura’s room he knocked and was let in by an enthusiastic Jou.

“Yo, Yugi! Come on in!” Jou grabbed Yugi by the shoulder and pulled him in, wrapping an arm around his neck in a friendly manner.

“Ah--good morning Jou!” Yugi grinned.

“Ryou, Rebecca and I were just about to play a game!” Jou said.

“Oh really?”

Jou grinned, of course he knew Yugi loved games… that was going to be to Jou’s advantage. Bakura’s room was similar to Yugi and Atemu’s just with a slightly different layout. There were still two rooms, but by the look of the couch, someone had spent the night on the pull out sofa bed. Yugi wondered if it had been Bakura and cringed slightly at thinking of the Thief King being reduced to sleeping on a sofa bed. In the living room area there were several plush looking floor pillows strewn about. Ryou and Rebecca were sitting chatting, both smiling when they saw Yugi.

“Good morning, Yugi!” Ryou said politely, “Did you sleep well?”

Yugi could already feel the blush creeping on his face, “Ah-yeah! How about you two?”

“I slept  _ great _ !” Rebecca said enthusiastically, “These beds are  _ super _ comfortable… but I don’t think Bakura was too keen we kicked him out of his private suite.”

She gave a little wink and laughed. Yugi couldn’t help but smile at her don’t-give-a-damn attitude. He joined them on the floor and Jou sat down as well.

“Awight!” Jou said happily, “I say we plaaaay… truth or dare!”

Yugi’s enthusiasm was instantly gone. Rebecca clapped. Ryou looked as mortified as Yugi.

“Ahh… is there something  _ else _ we can play?” Yugi asked softly.

“No way!” Rebecca defended the idea.

“What, you afraid of a little  _ game _ ?” Jou’s smile was surprisingly wicked.

Yugi tried to smile, but it looked a little too much like a grimace. Rebecca and Jou weren’t backing down.   
“I’ll start!” Rebecca said wildly, “RYOU!”

Ryou flinched, “Y-yeah?”   
“Truth or dare?” She had a sinister grin plastered all over her face.

Ryou’s eyes closed as he weighed his options… both of which sucked.

“Ah… t-truth?”

“Alright… what is your  _ deepest _ ,  _ darkest _ fear?”

Ryou blinked, that wasn’t too bad maybe. He hummed lightly thinking.

“I suppose… ah… I really would hate to drown…”

Rebecca crossed her arms, “Yeah… I guess that would be pretty frightening. Your turn!”

“Um… Jou? Truth or dare?”

Jou was quick to respond, “Dare!”

Ryou pondered, “How about… I dare you to eat a tablespoon of the hot sauce in the fridge.”

Everyone was pretty shocked that Ryou was fairly quick to come up with something. Jou didn’t back down however.

“Awight!” He jumped up and stomped over to the fridge with a determined look on his face. 

Everyone watched as he grabbed a spoon and the hot sauce with arabic scrolled across the front. The arabic didn’t give any idea of just how hot the sauce would be… but the little skull picture was probably a good indication. Jou filled the spoon and paused to gulp just a little before he opened his mouth as wide as possible and swallowed the hot sauce. For a few seconds, nothing, until suddenly his whole face turned bright red and he let out a huff of air.

“HOT!” He called turning back to the fridge to look for something to wash down the sauce.

The others began to laugh, Ryou feeling slightly guilty, as Jou hopped around the kitchen drinking milk, water, soda… anything to calm his mouth down.

“Ah can’t feel mah pips….” Jou said pathetically.

“What?” Rebecca laughed not sure what he was trying to say.

“He can’t feel his lips!”

They all burst into another round of laughter. Jou had tears streaming down his face at this point from the heat of the sauce but was still smiling. About 15 minutes went by until Jou was able to speak ‘normally’ (for him at least). Jou sat back down in the circle with a glass of water and sighed.

“Worth it! Because now it’s MY turn.” An evil grin spread across his face, “Yuuuuug’! Truth or dare?”

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Pegasus walked next to Zorc smiling and chatting away about the exciting things in Egypt he had been able to see since deciding to stay in the area. Zorc politely listened to the blabber as they approached their destination.

“Ah--here we are.” Zorc cut Pegasus’s chatter off.

They were standing outside of a white town house that had nice palm-type trees in the front yard. They approached the leftmost door and Zorc rang the doorbell.

Pegasus practically giggled, “You’ve been very mysterious about this friend of yours.”

“I think you’ll get along great. He’s an old acquaintance of Seto Kaiba’s…”   
A man answered the door. He was tall and thin. His face was very serious looking, framed by medium length chestnut colored hair and soft brown  **1** eyes. He was wearing a dark purple button down shirt with dark black jeans.

“Ah, Zorc. Hello… this must be the famous Pegasus Crawford?” The man’s voice was even toned.

“Hello Mahado, thanks for letting us intrude.” Zorc said with a grin.

“Not at all.” Mahado stood aside and let the two men inside.

“Oooh this is lovely!” Pegasus said looking around Mahado’s apartment.

Mahado had decorated his flat with replicas (or, were they possibly real?) artifacts of the Ancient Egyptians. There were persian rugs and intricate glass paned lights that looked more Moroccan than Egyptian. The walls had art from ancient Greece and Roman pillars holding up Italian style vases. There was definitely a well traveled air to the entire apartment. Pegasus was openly gawking at a tapestry on the wall while Zorc whispered aside to Mahado.

“Ready for your ultimate  _ revenge _ ?” Zorc grinned.

Mahado’s poker face didn’t budge. “As long as you remember I’m not doing this for you.”

“You wound me Mahado,” Zorc slipped away from Mahado’s side and went to stand next to Pegasus.

“Well Pegasus, I’m sure Mahado would love to give you a tour of the place, however…” there was the  _ click _ of a gun being cocked and Pegasus froze when he felt the barrel pressed to his back, “We have a few small matters we need to  _ discuss _ …”

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Mahado of all people…   
Atemu didn’t hold back the growl in his throat. Memories of his time in Egypt came flooding back to him... 

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

_ It was a hot summer day in Egypt 10 years ago. Atemu was playing in the streets of Cairo with Bakura. His orphaned friend had been… not the best influence to Atemu but proved to be a loyal person.  _

_ “I promise ‘Kura! When we’re older, I’m sure my dad will let you have a job with him! I know some people think what he does is bad but…” _

_ Bakura laughed, “I’m already a bad person.” _ _  
_ _ “No! You’re not. You’re just… misunderstood.” Atemu said crossing his arms and staring firmly at the albino. _

_ “Yes your  _ majesty _.”  _

_ Atemu pouted, “Don’t call me that!” _

_ “Why not? Would you prefer Pharaoh?” Bakura gave a toothy smile. _

_ Atemu laughed, “I would prefer if you just called me a friend.” _

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

_ Bakura ran as fast as he could avoiding the ENP that were hot on his tail. He managed to scoot around a building and hide out of site as four men ran past. He laughed to himself and took a bite of the bread he had managed to snag out of one of the shops. As he went to take a second bite he found the bread taken out of his hands by a taller boy. _

_ “Hey! Get your own!” Bakura reached to take the bread back but the boy lifted it high out of reach. _

_ “Did you steal this?” The boy asked narrowing his brown eyes. _

_ “So what if I did?” _

_ “Mahado!” Atemu came running up to the two. _

_ “Atemu?” Bakura was shocked to see his new friend here, “You know this jerk?” _

_ The boy named Mahado gave a cold glare to Bakura, “Atemu… you know this  _ thief _?” _

_ Bakura growled and prepared to teach the taller boy a lesson but Atemu got between them. _

_ “Please Mahado… give it back.” Atemu was staring at Mahado with those crimson eyes that from a young age unnerved most other kids, but not his close friends. _

_ Mahado didn’t budge for a few minutes but eventually sighed and handed the bread to Atemu before walking briskly away muttering something about a thief under his breath. Atemu handed the bread to Bakura and chased after Mahado. _

_ “Why’d you stand up for that nobody?” Mahado asked when Atemu caught up to him.  _

_ Mahado’s voice had not masked his jealousy… they were after all just kids at the time… _

_ Atemu rolled his eyes, “Mahado… he doesn’t have anything to eat. He doesn’t just steal for fun… at least not all the time.”  _

_ “I don’t trust him.” Mahado said firmly. _

_ “What is there not to trust? He doesn’t have a family Mahado… can't you understand he just needs a friend?” _

_ “Why can’t he steal someone else’s friend…” Mahado muttered. _

_ Atemu laughed, “He’s not stealing anyone from you! In fact, I bet you two would get along better than you think!” _

_ Mahado huffed, “I doubt it...” _

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

_ Over the years, the trio ended up becoming inseparable. Mahado was the responsible one that was typically the one to talk the three out of any trouble. Atemu was the most cunning. Bakura was the boldest. They really were quite a trio. Bakura found trouble quite a few times with the ENP… but Atemu always ended up getting him out of trouble… or at least trying. And if Atemu was unsuccessful, then Mahado got Bakura  _ and  _ Atemu out of trouble. _

_ Bakura climbed up a trellis on Mahado’s house followed closely by Atemu. As they vaulted up and over the balcony connecting to Mahado’s room they heard shouting inside and hid against the walls. When the shouting stopped, Atemu opened the door to Mahado’s room and called inside. Mahado sat on the bed, silent tears down his face. His cheek was already turning a purple-blue color from being struck. Atemu came over and sat next to his friend. Bakura hung back. Unsure how to approach the scene. Mahado explained that his dad had found out he’d been sneaking out of the house. Atemu tried to reassure Mahado that he didn’t deserve it… but Bakura didn’t miss the change in his attitude from that day forward.  _

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

_ Atemu stood over his father’s coffin. Hands clenched, he tried to hold back the tears.  _

_ Mahado stood next to him. _

_ “I’m sorry Atemu…” _

_ Atemu nodded at his friend. He didn’t trust his voice to actually say anything. Atemu had been too focused on his own grief that he barely recognized any of the people coming and going that day. But that was the day that he met his cousin from Japan, Seto Kaiba. That was also the day he was told he would take over la Famiglia. And that meant leaving Egypt. The state was not safe after Atemu’s father’s death… and the Kaiba family had a good foothold in Japan to act as a base of operations. _

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

_ Atemu felt like a child as he pleaded with his uncle to let his friends come with him to Japan… but Mahado’s family was not involved and could not be involved with the Family… Bakura on the other hand… the orphan had no loose ends. Atemu’s uncle agreed that the strange white haired friend could accompany Atemu and Seto back to Japan. Atemu didn’t forget the look on Mahado’s face when he told his oldest friend that he had to leave him behind… Mahado had yelled at Atemu. _

_ “I”ve done everything for you!” Mahado yelled in the parking lot as the limo waited for Atemu to take him to the airport. “I’ve gotten in trouble! I've been chased by the cops! I’ve gotten your ass out of so many bad situations! My dad… and… and you’re--you’re just leaving! And  _ he’s _ going with you?! But not me?!” _

_ Atemu tried to explain but could only say so much… Mahado had always know Atemu’s family did something that Atemu couldn’t come out and directly explain… Mahado ended up turning about-face at a lightning speed and running from Atemu. His face had been red with anger and there had been tears in his eyes. Atemu had desperately wanted to go to his friend and explain everything to him when Seto’s voice interrupted his plan to give chase. _

_ “We have a plane to catch. You’re the Don now… you don’t have time for these games.” Seto said getting into the limo. _

_ Atemu grit his teeth and kicked the dirt under his feet. Without another glance, he got into the limo and never saw Mahado again. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 I honestly cannot tell what the hell color Mahado’s eyes are so we’re just going with brown -_-...


	17. Goodbye Kiss

Yugi gulped as Jou’s eyes lit up mischievously and his grin turned wicked.

“Ah--” Yugi begin to panic, “T-Truth?”

Jou seemed only slightly disappointed.

“Wimping out on me, huh Yug’?” Jou shook his head, “That’s fine… I have ta perfect question for ya!”

Jou began to giggle almost maniacally, “Remember when ya told me ya didn’t think that Atemu liked ya?”

“Is this the question?” Yugi was puzzled as he fought back an oncoming blush.

“No! Just answer… this is preliminary.” 

“Y-Yes… I remember telling you that in confidence…” Yugi tried to hide his annoyance.

Jou grinned, “All is fair Yug’... I’d like the TRUTH. Tell us if ya got the hots for the King!”

Yugi’s face flared red but before he could even retort, Rebecca chimed in.

“What! Ugh... boooooring…”

“What’d you say ya little punk? You dissin’ my question or sumthin’!?” Jou shot back.

“Uh… yeah… duh I’m dissing your question. OBVIOUSLY Yugi has the hots for him… what a waste of a truth.”

Yugi was now tomato red.

“E-Excuse me!?” The tomato--I mean Yugi, stammered out. “Wh-Who says that I have the hots for anybody?”

Jou crossed his arms, “Ya gotta be honest with yaself here Yug’... I think this is a perfect truth to share and get it off ya chest.”

Yugi was speechless. He considered asking what the dare would be if he backed out on telling but he shuddered to think it. 

“He’s…” Those crimson eyes flashed in front of Yugi’s mind but before he could answer the door opened to the room and Mai walked in.

“Sorry to interrupt kiddos, but we’re going on a little field trip.” 

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Pegasus whimpered in the corner of the room. They had bound him to a chair and Mahado was using Pegasus’ cell to find the contact information for Kaiba. To get to the Pharaoh, they’d need to get to his friends first. Mahado clenched his fists remembering the day the Pharaoh just  _ left _ him. After Atemu had left him Mahado’s life had been hell. He was a kid, left alone. The friends he had made left and never made contact with him. The people he cared for and his support were gone. All he had been left with was his militaristic father. He had met Zorc for the first time after running away from home. He wouldn’t forget it. Mahado’s father had taken a beating too far one night and ended up fracturing Mahado’s collar bone when he pushed him against a pillar in their house. Mahado fought back but that had only managed to anger his dad more. He had feared for his life when he ran away… but he wouldn’t forget the fear in his mother’s eyes as he left her alone.

He hadn’t meant to leave her with that devil… but by the time he returned, days? Maybe it had been weeks later… it had been too late. Both his parents were gone. He hadn’t seen either of his parents since. It would always be his deepest regret. Zorc had been the one to find Mahado aimlessly wandering the streets, hungry, dirty, and alone. Zorc had taken Mahado in, and suggested to Mahado that he join a popular gang in the area. Zorc had been a part of it for a short amount of time and got Mahado in without issue. Mahado wasn’t necessarily proud of the work he did, neither did he ever one hundred percent trust the people he worked with, but he was so young when he joined and didn’t have an education to do anything else. Once he was in the gang, he never found a way out. The gang had its perks which was obvious by the art found in his apartment. Mahado had been able to work his way up the ranks due to his cunning and his calm composure. Zorc had come back about a year ago for business and when he spoke with Mahado he had mentioned the Three Kings and their leader. Mahado instantly had gone pale and Zorc knew. After telling his story to Zorc, Mahado began to feel more anger rather than sorrow over his friend’s abandonment. He sometimes wondered truly what this revenge plot would bring him. If it was even worth it... But he wanted Atemu to know the pain that he had suffered. He wanted him to know what it felt like to be alone. And Zorc carefully had made sure to remind Mahado of the injustices done...

Mahado found the number (listed under “Kaiba-boy”). He wasn’t quite sure how Kaiba would react to being called up by Pegasus, perhaps he’d ignore the call. Mahado looked over at where Zorc stood admiring a statute of Ares sitting on a glass shelf.

“Here,” Mahado tossed the phone to Zorc who caught it effortlessly.

“Ah, thanks. And the interception software  **1** is already functioning? Brilliant work!” He looked down at the name on the phone and grinned a shark toothed smile, “We’re so very close, Mahado. Soon they’ll know your pain. Now… let’s see what dear Seto has been up to.”

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Atemu barged into his room. He was angry but also confused. He honestly thought Mahado had been dead for a few years now. He called… maybe a year after leaving, trying to reconnect with Mahado… but the phone was answered by someone who didn’t know Mahado’s family. They said they moved in a few months ago and that the family that had been there before them had just left one day. He didn’t know where Mahado had gone or if his father had done something awful again… Atemu felt the unfamiliar sting of tears building behind his eyes. He didn’t understand. He had trusted and loved Mahado as a dear friend… what could have happened to make him work with a person like Zorc? Why hadn’t Mahado reached out to him… I mean, maybe it would have been a tad difficult getting in touch with a Mafia boss halfway across the globe but, he knew Seto was his cousin. Surely there could have been some way… but Atemu shook his head. He needed to focus. 

If Mahado was involved there was a good chance that they didn’t have much longer before this hotel was compromised. As a child Mahado had an uncanny knack at finding people. Atemu was slightly surprised that Mahado was working with Zorc, rather than in law enforcement. He always had the right material to be a police officer… He felt a pang of guilt. He had wished he had tried harder to find Mahado.

‘ _ I am sorry my friend…’ _

Atemu grabbed his ready-to-go black duffle bag and headed back to the hallway where Seto was waiting. The tanned skin King threw on a light white button down to hide the gun still plastered to his side. Bakura locked the door they had just come from and turned to the others.

“Marik and Malik are aware of the situation and will get Isis to safety with Rashid. Isis warned that she believes whoever is interfering with her abilities, Zorc or Mahado now she doesn't know… but she thinks they’re both nearby. Mai is taking care of the others. I’ve reached out to Otogi in case he can help us further. In the meantime, we’ll get you to a safe house.” The Thief explained.

“Are there any left here?” Atemu asked.

“Very few.” Seto muttered.

“That’s reassuring.”

“Look, this is temporary until we can find a way to get back at these fuckers.” Added Bakura.

“I’d like to just find out where they are so I can  _ show _ them what happens when you mess with la Famiglia.” Atemu narrowed his eyes.

As if on cue, Seto’s phone rang. He looked at the name and frowned.

“Why the fuck is Pegasus calling me now…” Seto grumbled.

Atemu didn’t like the fact that Pegasus rarely called Seto… usually he sent texts with far too many smiley faces and heart symbols… and last Atemu heard, Pegasus was in Egypt now too... 

“Answer it, Seto.” Atemu had a bad feeling about this.

Seto nodded and answered, “Kaiba speaking.”

“Ahhhh… Seto Kaiba… How are things going in Egypt?” Zorc’s dark tone came through the speakers and Seto tensed.

“Zorc.”

Upon hearing the name Atemu’s fists clenched and he turned to Bakura, “Keep Seto on the phone with him as long as possible and leave out that we know Mahado is involved. We need to find out what their game is. And I need to do one last thing before we leave.”

Bakura nodded, “Yes, Pharaoh.”

Atemu left his duffle bag with Bakura and marched down the hall back towards their rooms. If Zorc was going after Pegasus and if Mahado was involved, then Atemu knew this was only the beginning. Pegasus wasn’t necessarily an ally of the Kings but he was a crucial aspect to Kaiba Corps business, and KC’s business was crucial to the Kings’ livelihood. As he approached the door to Bakura’s room he heard voices inside. He knocked and was greeted by Mai who returned her gun back into her thigh holster upon seeing him.

“King... Shouldn’t you be leaving by now?”   
Atemu nodded, “I need to do one thing first.”

He looked past Mai and into the room. He saw them then. Those amethyst eyes he’d had on his mind for days now. Wordlessly he entered the room and grabbed Yugi’s wrist, making the shorter boy yelp in surprise. Yugi allowed Atemu to direct him into one of the vacant bedrooms, all eyes watching. Even Rebecca was too startled by the suddenness to crack a wise ass comment. Atemu shut the door and faced Yugi, not letting go of his slim wrist. Yugi felt his heart drop at the sad look in Atemu’s eyes. The tall Egyptian pulled Yugi towards him in an embrace, his hand moving from Yugi’s wrist to wrap around the boy’s body. Yugi’s went rigid, unsure of how to react to being embraced by the man he had been developing feelings for. His heart was thumping wildly in his chest. 

“W-what’s going on?” Yugi asked meekly.

Atemu didn’t let go as he responded, “We have to part ways for a time. I’m not sure how long and I… I’m just sorry that I’ve gotten you involved in this mess.”   
“Tell me what’s happened.” Yugi was a little surprised by his own forwardness.

“There’s someone I used to know here that I’ve hurt and they’re working with Zorc.” Atemu pulled himself away just enough from Yugi to look into the younger’s wide eyes, “I’m afraid that this person knows my weaknesses…”

“W-what’s that?” Yugi felt his cheeks flush looking into the crimson orbs that didn’t waver from his own.

“People I care about.”

Atemu was so close. Yugi’s eyes dropped to his toes and he felt heat rise in his face.

‘ _ He couldn’t mean me… _ ’ Yugi thought to himself, dismissing or oblivious to how the taller man was looking at him and how he still hadn’t stopped touching Yugi.

Yugi was busy admiring the shoelaces on his sneakers when Atemu gently put a finger under Yugi’s chin. He pulled Yugi’s face up to meet him. Atemu couldn’t help it. He wanted to stay away from Yugi but the thought pained him. He at least wanted to tell Yugi… just in case Atemu didn’t come back... 

“I don’t think they know yet that you are the person I care most about. I’ve never felt like this about anyone else.” Atemu said lightly, “I’m not sure what it is about you Yugi, you’re a light in my darkness. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

Yugi’s mind raced, his heart sped up, he started to protest, “But you--”

Atemu silenced the protest by pressing his lips against Yugi’s. Atemu moaned as Yugi instantly responded to the kiss, throwing his arms around the King’s neck, his hands tangled in Atemu’s mess of hair. Atemu’s arms were strong around Yugi’s waist. He lifted Yugi into the air with ease and pressed him against the wall. Yugi gasped as the air was forced slightly from his lungs. Atemu took the opportunity to slide his tongue greedily into Yugi’s mouth. Yugi’s eyes shot open at the intrusion but slowly slid shut again as he sighed into the kiss. Yugi’s heart was in his throat as Atemu tilted his head to get deep into his mouth. His tongue was commanding and Yugi wanted to obey. Atemu pulled away, resting their foreheads together, both panting. Atemu thought he would lose any last shred of self control looking into those lust-fogged orbs and those kiss bruised lips.

“You’re so beautiful,” Atemu whispered, “Please tell me to stop…”

Yugi struggled for his breath, “I… I don’t want you to stop.”

Atemu attacked Yugi’s lips with his own, a new hunger settling deep in his abdomen. He swung Yugi away from the wall and pushed them back onto the bed. Yugi was absolutely breathless beneath him. As Atemu pressed down in between Yugi’s legs there was no hiding the obviously hardness that had grown in those tight leather pants.

‘ _ Who wears leather in Egypt… oh, Gods… _ ’ Yugi’s train of thought dwindled until all he could think was that wanted to feel  _ more. _

Yugi began to move his hips against Atemu. Atemu growled. Feeling Yugi writhe beneath him was almost too much to bear. Atemu pulled off the button down and shrugged off his holster and gun gently dropping them next to the bed. Next he pulled off his black tank top. Yugi took in the sight of those perfectly tanned, sculpted abs, and felt suddenly inadequate. Atemu hesitated as he took in the scene below him. Yugi looked positively delicious like this. He leaned over Yugi again, capturing his lips. Yugi eagerly submitted to Atemu’s kisses, his hands found their way into the gold streaked mop of hair and Atemu moaned at the touch. Yugi’s hands began to wander to Atemu’s shoulders and down his arms. Yugi wanted to touch every part of him. Atemu moved away from those wanting lips and trailed his lips down Yugi’s neck, eagerly tugging at the hems of his shirt. The younger again complied lifting his torso off the bed so the shirt could slip over his head. Atemu took a moment to admire Yugi’s alabaster skin. A blush dusted Yugi’s cheeks and his softness was another painful reminder to Atemu how incredibly innocent the boy under him was…

“Yugi… you’re perfect” Atemu purred as he placed small kisses along Yugi’s chest, working his way first downwards, which made the boy beneath him shudder, his hands gripping into Atemu’s hair and shoulders. Then he worked his lips back up and over younger’s neck and chin, his lips coming to rest by Yugi’s ear. He nibbled on Yugi’s earlobe for a moment eliciting sweet little gasps from Yugi’s mouth. Atemu tried to speak, tried to stop himself from taking Yugi’s innocence, “Yugi--I… we…”

Atemu couldn’t find the words to say how he felt.

“Atemu…” Hearing Yugi say his name made him shudder and he bit back a moan.

What he wouldn’t give to hear Yugi say his name over and over like that...

Crimson eyes met amethyst, “I  _ want  _ you, Yugi… I want your body, your mind, to be with you… but I have to go. I have to leave and you have to get to safety. I have never wanted to protect someone as much as I feel the need to protect you.”

Atemu bit back a laugh at the pout that formed on Yugi’s face. His gaze softened as he gently caressed Yugi’s cheek. Yugi wanted to turn away from the touch, he wanted to refuse that Atemu was leaving… but instead he grabbed Atemu’s hand and held it tightly. He could feel tears pricking his eyes and scolded himself. He knew he was being silly but hearing Atemu say those things and finally being able to show him that he felt the same way. It was too much now to think about him leaving. Atemu leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Yugi’s nose. Taking in all he could in these moments. Yugi fought back a smile that formed as Atemu kissed his nose, forehead, eyes, cheeks… No one had ever made him feel like this. 

“Where will you go?” Yugi asked, his tone defeated.

“I’m not sure…”

Atemu kissed Yugi again, this time long and hard, intertwining their fingers. He never wanted to forget this moment. He had never felt more complete than he did around Yugi. It was a strange sensation. As if Yugi was a piece of a puzzle that fit Atemu perfectly. Yugi was also desperate to remember every sensation he was feeling. He thought about if this really could be the last he would see of the King…

As they kissed, Yugi felt a single tear slip out from his eye and he internally cursed himself. Atemu had noticed the tear which had hit his hand as it held Yugi’s face. He gently kissed away the wet trail the tear had left and captured Yugi’s lips again. Yugi could taste the salt from his own tears on Atemu’s lips. Atemu rested his forehead on Yugi’s again. Breathing in the scent of him. He sighed, never wanting to move.

“I will protect you, Yugi.”

“Will you please protect yourself too?” Yugi asked as their eyes locked.

Atemu grabbed Yugi's hand and kissed it tenderly.

“I will come back to you.”

Atemu stood up, moving away from Yugi took every ounce of his strength. He put on his tank, gun, and shirt and without risking another glance at those eyes, he left. Yugi watched him walk through the door and he couldn’t begin to stop the tears that came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 I have absolutely no idea if this is even a thing… I’m thinking of whatever would stop the Kings from being able to intercept or locate Pegasus’ device… is that a thing? Gah...


	18. Dangerous Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of my favorite chapters to write. Please enjoy!

Yugi couldn’t tell how much time had passed. Seconds or minutes? The tears ran dry and Yugi’s mind went blank, his feelings numbed, then turned to worry. Would he ever see him again? It felt like there was a brick in his stomach. Eventually, Mai poked her head in the door and gave Yugi a soft smile but Yugi saw it was laced with pity.

“You alright kid? We need to move.” 

Mai’s tone was slightly nervous. He nodded and tried to put on a brave face. Mai led him back into the common room where the others had bags of their most important items on them. Yugi looked around.

“Uh, I don’t have anything packed.” He said lightly.

Mai looked over, her own bag in her hand, “Did you bring anything irreplaceable?”

Yugi shook his head, he hadn’t brought anything valuable because he didn’t really have anything like that to begin with.

“We’ll get you new things after we get settled in our new location. Time’s short enough as it is.” She rounded up the others and they began to head towards the exit of the hotel. 

Waiting outside for them was a large black Mercedes-Benz G-Class  **1** which Mai popped the trunk of, threw her bag in, and ordered them to do the same. Jou yelled shotgun startling Ryou and climbed up front, bag still in hand. Yugi, Rebecca, and Ryou all piled into the back which was pretty spacious. As soon as they were all in, Mai shut the trunk and got into the driver’s seat.

“Hang on, kiddos, the streets here are a little wild.” She grinned and all four passengers gulped.

They took off down the busy streets. Yugi watched wide eyed out the window at all the people, he wasn’t sure he could get bored of seeing the exotic sights of Egypt, vendors with trinkets, small shops selling cold drinks, people wearing different brightly colored clothes to women dressed head to toe in long black  _ niqābs _ , it was absolutely fascinating… but suddenly he was desperately homesick for Japan. Jou was arguing with Mai in the front seat about their vehicle being too flashy and Mai was just laughing. Yugi looked around at the other vehicles and wondered if Jou wasn’t right about this. Most of the vehicles were quite a few years older and smaller. They did stick out like a sore thumb. Yugi watched carefully as some of the people Mai passed by turned to watch them go, likely seeing Mai’s bright blond hair and designer sunglasses would lead them to believe she was an actress or supermodel. She could have easily gotten a career as either. He wondered what led her to join up with the Kings. The thought was cut short as Mai took a sharp left down an ally that Yugi was pretty sure wasn’t supposed to be driven down. The whole group has been shifted by the sudden change in direction and Jou started to rant about getting a little more warning.

Mai’s voice was on edge when she spoke, “Stuff it, Jounouchi and put on your seatbelt. We’ve got company.”

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Atemu leaned back into the leather seats as Bakura drove the car. Atemu was sure that the scowl on Seto’s face was permanent. The three sat in mostly silence as they approached the safe house. The building itself looked like a normal shop front. There was just a small apartment above it. The Kings had no business out of this shop but did pay the store keeper under the table for rent to avoid any connection to themselves. The Kings when they were prominent in Egypt had also quite a bit of control over the police in the area but that influence had waned after they moved their headquarters to Japan. They entered the apartment via the fire escape stairs along the backside of the building. Bakura headed straight to the kitchen and pulled out an old bottle of whiskey from a cabinet and grabbed three short glasses. Atemu tossed down his duffle on the couch and flopped down with a sigh before turning his attention to Seto.

“So what all did that asshole have to say?”

Bakura walked over and sat across from the King, setting down the glasses and opening the bottle. Seto rolled his eyes as he watched Bakura but took a seat as well. 

“Well, to cut the bullshit, they’ve got us by the balls here.”

Atemu took the glass Bakura handed him and bit back a grimace from the burn of the alcohol. He swirled the amber liquid around in the glass and frowned.

“Zorc seems to know that the kid came along. I don’t know if he went back to the restaurant or what but our men back home said they haven’t noticed him snooping around.” Bakura added, “I wonder if he’s trying to figure out a way to use the kid to strike a deal.”

“If he’s working with Mahado, I don’t think he’s interested in a deal.” Atemu’s arms hung over the back of the couch as he slouched down, “He also must have noticed the way I acted around Yugi. I know I didn’t exactly keep my poker face on when Zorc visited. The only thing Zorc could be interested in is taking us out for good. And getting Pegasus involved isn’t helping us much here.”

Bakura and Seto exchanged a glance.

“Otogi had mentioned working their way into our systems. What I don’t understand is why they were trying to hide at first? If it’s truly just a screw us out of money maneuver then why didn’t they just come out and take a large chunk to give us a bigger blow?”

“I have a feeling that was for one of two reasons. Either to stall for time, or...” Seto sighed, “Or… he wanted us to come to Egypt.”

“And if that’s the case, we fell for it hook, line, and sinker.” Atemu growled and took another swig of the amber liquid in his glass, “What did he say about Pegasus anyway?”

Seto’s face went stony, “On that end. He wanted to bargain. He wants 110 mil to keep him alive.”  **2**

Bakura laughed, “Like hell, that asshole thinks we’re going to pay him off for Pegasus?”

“Not that I’m overly fond of Pegasus but he and his business is an asset to Kaiba Corp.” Seto said cooly.

Atemu nodded, “Kaiba has a point, Bakura. We can’t have Zorc doing anything stupid to jeopardize Pegasus’ safety.”

Bakura rolled his eyes and drained his own glass, “This is above my paygrade. You head honchos can talk this over. I’m going to give Otogi a call and see if he has more dirt on what Zorc’s real goal is here.”

“Bakura… you know that Zorc is using Mahado is to get to us.” Atemu said calmly.

Bakura growled, “I know. And I’m sure Mahado’s being manipulated by Zorc somehow. But that doesn’t mean that’s all going on here. If that man-whore Otogi has any additional information it wouldn’t hurt to have a least one thing on our side.”

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Mai’s grip on the steering wheel was lethal. Jou was giving the dark car behind them a mean glare. The large SUV was at a serious disadvantage to the smaller car on the crowded streets. Rebecca was gripping Yugi’s sleeve so fiercely he could feel his fingers starting to go numb from the tightness of the material. Ryou looked slightly motion sick as they rounded another corner. Mai cussed as she saw the stopped traffic about 500 feet ahead of them. They'd be sitting ducks in that mess. She veered hard and took another side road. Yugi could suddenly see that they were close to the Pyramids. Mai had turned onto one of the access roads and was heading towards the entrance, her speed causing many walking tour groups and people on camels and horses to move out of the way while shaking their fist or a certain finger her way. As they got to a clear stretch of path that ran fairly close to the Sphinx, Mai pushed down the pedal and sand and dirt kicked up behind them. As she sped off, several of the guards watched but appeared to be too stunned to do anything, none of them being near a vehicle. Yugi glanced behind but couldn't see their pursuer through the dust cloud. Mai passed between two of the Pyramids and headed straight for the stretch of desert in front of them. Yugi noticed then that she had removed her gun from her thigh holster and the thought of if the vehicle was bulletproof fluttered through his reeling thoughts…

Mai pushed the vehicle fast into the desert space behind the Pyramids, following a small dirt trail and passing over some intersecting roads at a jaw dropping pace. Yugi knew there was no way they'd be able to shake off anyone out in this flat waste.

“Hold on!” Mai yelled suddenly and spun the car around so that they were facing 180 degrees, but to Yugi’s surprise, the car was still going the direction it had been going 180 degrees ago… Mai was going in reverse. Through the dust cloud Yugi saw the front of the chasing car maybe 100 feet from their own. Mai’s window rolled down and she took aim…

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Pegasus gasped in pain as Zorc kicked Pegasus square in the back, forcing the white haired man to stumble into a spare room.

“Do behave. We'd hate to have something unexpected happen to you after this  _ pleasant  _ visit.” Zorc’s grin was ear to ear as he watched Pegasus struggle to regain his balance with his arms tied behind his back, “If all goes to plan we’ll even have company for you before long!”

Pegasus’ skin crawled but he didn't say anything as the bedroom door was slammed shut with an unmistakable click of a lock being fixed on the other side. Zorc made his way towards Mahado and the two headed towards the exit.

“Ready to meet the person that will help us take down the King?” Zorc said smugly.

“This had better be worth my time, Zorc.”

“Have I ever let you down before?” 

Mahado huffed, chose not to respond to that question, and walked out into the hot sun. Zorc had some allies in Egypt left who had helped to track down half of Atemu’s little party. They got into Mahado’s car and headed towards the desert expanse by the Pyramids. Taking a small access road they found three vehicles all stationary in the middle of a section of desert. There were a few different people outside of the cars. One, Mahado recognized as one of the leaders of the Three Kings from Zorc’s briefings, Mai. She was unmistakable with her long blonde hair and striking lilac eyes that were glaring at them as they approached. There were two rough looking darker skinned men that must have been Zorc’s thugs, a rather effeminate and albino looking boy that reminded him of that damn thief, Bakura, a young girl with brown hair who looked rather unfazed considering how young she looked… and… was that… Atemu??

No. This kid was smaller and softer looking Mahado realized as they got closer. His hair was the same spiked and multicolored wild mop that the King had, but there was more purple in his hair than red, and this kid was pale with wide violet eyes rather than the bronzed skin and deathly red eyes of the King. This must have been the one Zorc had mentioned. The one that would help them topple the King. Mahado parked, he and Zorc exited. Zorc went up to Mai first. She was propped against the SUV with her hands cuffed behind her back with Yugi and Ryou. Jou and Rebecca were just a bit further away.

“Well, well, well… Hello queeny.” His smile mimicked a kid in a candy store as he reached up to touch her cheek.

Before he could touch her, Mai spit at him. A trail of liquid ran down his dark cheek. His sadistic smile didn’t falter. He took a single finger, wiped it away the wet and proceeded to put the finger in his mouth. Mai didn’t flinch either.

“I will kill you.” She said flatly. 

“Oh, like you so skillfully killed my associates here?” He looked behind him at the two men. “Looks like only the one didn’t make it. You’re lucky I told them I wanted you all alive.” 

Mai’s face again was stone. Next to one of Zorc’s cars there was a body face down in blood being soaked up by the sand. The car’s windshield was busted out. The front of the car had several bullet holes and a flat tire. The Kings SUV had fewer bullet holes, it was also missing a side mirror had a busted front headlight, and all four tires were popped. The second smaller car had obviously arrived later as it looked fine besides a light layer of dust. Zorc turned his attention to the others in the group. Yugi was trying not to freak out as the same uneasy feeling Zorc had made him feel all that time ago in Japan came flooding back… was it really even that long ago at all? It felt like a lifetime. Yugi’s hair stood on end as Zorc’s grin widened.

“Ahh… little Higure… or should I perhaps call you, Yugi?” Zorc sneered.

“W-what do you want?” Yugi found he didn’t quite have the nerves of steel that Mai had.

“Oh poor, innocent, Yugi…” Zorc’s black eyes targeted onto Yugi’s amethyst orbs, “I want to destroy your precious King and burn his whole pathetic excuse for a gang into the ground.” 

Yugi wasn’t totally surprised by this, but he noticed Jou was attempting to get out of handcuffs and thought that maybe he could buy his friend some time… 

“And how do you think you’re going to do that?” Yugi asked, feeling slightly more confident, he had dealt with bullies before… he just had to remember that Zorc was just a big bully.

Zorc brought his face closer to Yugi’s, “You really want to know?”

Suddenly Zorc’s head tilted back and he laughed, but no one else seemed to know what was so funny. Zorc turned to face the desert (luckily away from Jou who had managed to get one cuff undone and was slipping around to the other side of the SUV where he wouldn’t be seen.

“Let’s see… well Mahado and I here are going to take you and all your pathetic  _ friends _ back to our very special accommodates that we have set up for you all. I think maybe queeny and I will spend some  _ quality _ time talking through negotiations. But then we’d like to make sure that your precious King gets what he deserves for all the trouble he’s caused his so called friends and allies. That false monarch will see the error of his ways when I’m done. Every time he’s tossed someone aside or insulted those he thought lower than himself. The King will die slowly, painfully, right after he sees how much he let his  _ friends _ down. I’ll even let you watch.”   
Yugi felt the blood draining from his face. He noticed Rebecca had disappeared as well. He had to keep stalling. Ryou seemed to notice what was going on as well as he began to fidget trying to keep the eyes towards himself and Yugi. Yugi turned his attention towards the man he didn’t know.

“And you?” Yugi tried to summon a fire in his eyes despite how weak he felt.

Yugi heard Atemu’s words in his head, ‘ _ There’s someone I used to know here that I’ve hurt…’ _

“You don’t even care about the person who obviously trusted you? You’re saying you used to call Atemu a friend but you’re not giving the real reason for doing this. Who’s really the traitor here?”

Mahado’s face didn’t crack any emotion. Zorc laughed again.

“So naive, isn’t he Mahado? He has no idea what his precious King did to someone he called a friend… leaving a  _ friend _ alone to suffer.” 

“He never would have meant to!” Yugi said trying his best to maybe get through to this Mahado.

“So the big, tough Mafia boss with oodles of people at his disposal just happened to never come back? Too important to visit someone he  _ claims  _ to have cared about?” Zorc asked unconvinced that Yugi could truly understand.

“He’s not like that!” Yugi started, “He would do anything for his friends!”

Zorc laughed again, “Oh little Yugi, you are quite amusing. I can easily see why the King took such an interest in an innocent thing like you… but the King is using you just like he is using everyone else. It would be easy to seduce a little plaything like you into his bed.”

“That's it!”

Everyone looked over to where the guards, who were now on the ground unconscious, had been before. Jou and Rebecca had guns drawn and aimed at Mahado and Zorc. Mai took advantage of the distraction to kick Zorc in the gut, making him double over. Mahado attempted to draw his weapon but Jou had bolted over at an impressive speed and was now wrestling with the man  **3** . Ryou ran over, though his hands were still cuffed, and tried to help Jou. Mai’s hands were still cuffed but she kicked at Zorc’s head while he was bent over clutching his abdomen. He dodged her this time though and began to reach for his gun. Yugi moved without thinking, throwing his body as hard as he could towards Zorc. The shorter boy had managed to make Zorc drop his gun. Rebecca had come over to start unlocking Mai’s cuffs. When Mai felt the first cuff fall away from her wrist she drew a small gun from her boot that had luckily gone unnoticed by their captors. Seeing her reach for a gun, Zorc ignored his dropped weapon and instead grabbed Yugi around his neck, swiftly pulling a knife from pocket.

“Everybody back off now or the boy dies.” Zorc said holding the blade against Yugi’s neck.

Yugi’s entire body was shaking. He could feel the edge oh so gently against his neck. Then he felt the little trickle of liquid down his neck. It was another moment before he felt the slight pain from the cut. That was a damn sharp knife…

Mai looked like she was deciding if she should attempt the shot, but she knew better than to risk it with how close Zorc was to Yugi. Jou had cussed loudly before giving up his fight with Mahado. Mahado grabbed Jou’s arm and twisted it around his back, forcing the blonde to his knees. Mai cursed and slowly, put down her gun on the ground, kicking it slightly away from her. Ryou and Rebecca had both backed off seeing their friend in such immediate danger. 

“You rats are more trouble than you’re worth.” Zorc said as he held onto Yugi.

The dark man looked at Mahado, “Give me your gun.” 

Mahado seemed to hesitate, but handed it over.

“Let’s see… who can we eliminate from this little party.” Zorc began to point the gun at each of them, slowly, one at at time. “Eeny. Meiey. Miny. Moe.”


	19. Regret

Seto stood by the window looking out into the city streets.

“They should have called by now.” Atemu said as he paced the living area of the apartment.

Seto didn’t reply. His eyes were focused on the pyramids in the distance. Bakura had gone to speak with Otogi who agreed to see if he could find out anything about Zorc’s next move. Atemu’s hands rung with worry. He looked at the clock, to his phone, back through the window, to his phone, to the clock, over and over.

“They should have called 10 minutes ago…” Atemu repeated.

Seto sighed and looked away from the window to watch Atemu’s pacing. He didn’t want to say it out loud, but Seto had the same uneasy feeling in his gut that he was sure was gnawing away at Atemu. He briefly wondered where Bakura was at and if he had learned anything from Otogi. As he pondered their options he noticed footsteps approaching. Bakura opened the door.   
“Speak of the devil…” Seto muttered to himself.

Ryuji was standing next to Bakura, his dark hair a stark contrast to Bakura’s white mop.

Atemu didn’t relax.

“What do we know?” Atemu asked.

“Well it’s not good…” Bakura said, “But first thing’s first, let’s get the hell out of here.” 

Atemu frowned, “And just where to?”

Ryuji nodded, “I know a place.”   
Seto didn’t look like he enjoyed the idea of moving after they had just reached a safe house.

Bakura chimed in, “Look, I won’t sugar coat it. There is a high chance that the others were captured by Zorc. They haven’t called yet have they?”

Seto shook his head when Atemu stood frozen.

Bakura nodded, “Let’s go then.”

Atemu instantly seemed to change. His eyes darkened. Despite being the shortest one in the room he took two easy strides and was very suddenly across the room next to Ryuji. The crimson eyed don has the green eyed man’s shirt bundled in his shaking fists.

“Tell me what happened.” Atemu’s voice wasn’t a question.

Ryuji brought his hands up in surrender.

“Look, I’m not on Zorc’s side here. I’m done with that psycho. I don’t have details. From what I know, he had a few cars watching the hotel. I don’t know how often, I didn’t even know if it was a for sure thing. I didn’t think you’d have left the hotel or I would have mentioned it.” 

Atemu snarled, his eyes shone like hellfire.

“I swear to god, Otogi. If you’re double crossing us I will personally peel each and every finger nail from your hands and feet before slicing every limb from your body. I will then make sure to cut your fucking balls off one at a fucking time. So you better pray to whatever Gods you believe in that if you are double crossing us that you die before I find out because I will make it my goal in life to make sure you suffer, slowly. Do I make myself clear?” 

Otogi slowly nodded. Atemu released his grip and moved towards the door. The Pharaoh’s eyes burned down to a smolder before he spoke again. 

“Let’s go. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to hide. It’s time to permanently put an end to the Zorc problem.”

No one questioned when the King spoke. As they headed out of the building, Atemu’s cell phone chimed. He looked at the name and answered.

“Isis.”

A calm voice answered, “My Pharaoh, Yugi is in danger but I’ve seen his location.”

“Tell me everything you can.”

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Yugi’s eyes widened. He’d never seen so much blood…

Jou had barely flinched when the bullet went through his thigh. His hands were clenched into tight fists, he was breathing heavily and leaning on all fours against the scorching sands. Blood was pooling around his knees. Jou’s face was etched with pain but he refused to cry out.

Zorc looked bored. Tightening his arm around Yugi’s throat he started moving the shorter boy towards his vehicle.

“Leave him to the desert. Let’s go before the Pharaoh catches on to our little plan…”

Mahado watched the blond boy at his feet for a minute, gun still aimed at the other three not currently bleeding out. Mai looked like she wanted to make a move for her gun but it was too far away. Mahado moved towards them to re-do their binds as Zorc roughly pushed Yugi into the back of their car.

The ride to Mahado’s house was quiet. Yugi couldn’t stop the tears that were streaming down his face. He watched as long as he could as they had sped away from Jou. He hadn’t known the other boy for long, but there was an undeniable brotherly bond that had formed. The vehicles that they left nearby weren't left in anyway that Yugi could think of for Jou to use. The keys had been removed and tossed far from the vehicles. The tires were slashed and gas lines cut. Not that Zorc seemed overly worried that Jou could drive in his state with a bullet through his leg but there was no room for mistakes. 

As the car came to a stop Yugi wondered how four handcuffed people being pushed against their will across the yard wouldn’t be noticed. He looked up and down the street but was slightly surprised to not see a single person out in their yard or walking. In fact there barely seemed to be any kind of traffic on the street. His heart sank slightly. Zorc had opened the door and was dragging them out towards the nice white house and Yugi’s optimism was waning fast. As they entered the house, Yugi was surprised by all the artifacts the house had. He could imagine his grandpa’s face looking at the priceless art and statutes. He was very much homesick thinking fondly of the old man. He hoped that his grandpa was at least safe.

They were corralled towards a back corner room. Mahado opened the door and they were ushered through. Yugi was surprised to see someone else already in the room. The man had long white hair which covered half his face. He was obviously a hostage too.

“You all, in.” Zorc ordered, but held onto Yugi’s arm, “You come with me.”

Yugi had an odd moment where he wasn’t sure if he was afraid or if he needed to puke. Zorc’s grip on his arm made Yugi squirm. He had a bad feeling about what was about to happen. As Yugi was dragged off, Mahado began to leave the newest captives in their room when Mai called out to him.   
“Mahado.” By the look in her eyes, she wasn’t in a joking mood, “I hope you understand that Yugi is one of the kindest and most selfless people on the planet. And should anything happen to him, I know myself and Atemu will both come for you and Zorc until the day we die.”

Mahado’s face betrayed him and for a moment his shock was evident. He closed the door without a response. In the quiet of the room, the white haired man spoke up.

“Are you talking about Atemu Kaji?” He asked.

Mai gave the man a glance from the corner of her eye, not sure how he was involved in this mess, and not willing to trust him just yet. But seeing as they were both captured by a mutual enemy she decided to nod.

“Oh heavens… maybe I do have a shot at getting out of here.” Pegasus sighed to himself.

Mai narrowed her eyes at the man, had she seen him somewhere before? She settled into a chair in the room and crossed her arms thinking about if she could really forget someone who looked like this man. She blinked, was this… what was his name? Geez you would think it wouldn’t be so easy to have a name of a multi-billionaire escape you but… was it Thestral? No, wait…

“You’re Pegasus aren’t you?” She asked.

The man chuckled and held a hand up, framing his face, “Speaking.”

_ ‘What an odd person,’ _ Mai thought as she looked him over.

Mai’s portion of the family didn't deal with Kaiba Corp affairs but she had heard Seto mention this guy and heard Atemu muttering when they left the hotel about this guy. She suddenly pouted. They didn't give her any heads up on a kidnap situation and now here she was, stuck next to a flamboyant businessman with no obvious way out. Her irritation vanished when she thought she heard a yell from down the hallway. She knew that was Yugi. Her blood started to boil. If they hurt him so help her she would skin those two alive…

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Yugi was trembling. He had been tossed to the floor and Zorc stood over him. Yugi couldn't help but remember back to the days he was endlessly bullied in school.

“So pet, what can we do to you? I can’t wait to get revenge on that--” Zorc’s leg pulled back and connected with Yugi’s gut as he spoke the next word, “ _ stupid, _ ” Yugi gasped but Zorc’s leg was pulled back again and wound up for the next word, “ _ self-righteous, _ ” Yugi struggled breathe in before the third kick connected in time with Zorc’s last words, “ _ arrogant _ Pharaoh…”

Light’s spotted Yugi’s vision as he tried to catch his breath. He felt tears prick his eyes but didn't want to give Zorc any satisfaction in knowing he was hurting. So blinking the tears back and taking a ragged inhale of air he did his best to give Zorc a defiant glare. Zorc laughed. 

“I know why he likes you kid, you sure do have a spark about you.” Zorc leaned down and grabbed a fist full of hair.

Yugi cried out, immediately angry with himself for letting the noise escape. He held on to the hands in his hair trying to lessen the pain as Zorc dragged him to a corner of the room and tossed him against some fairly empty shelves. Yugi felt the side of his body scrape against the edges of the shelves but he only hissed at the sensation. Zorc again was over him, his dark eyes burned as he leaned down to grab onto one of Yugi’s ankles. “Let’s see… if we break an ankle and I can be sure you won't run away…”

Real fear creeped over Yugi’s face. Beatings he could take… broken bones were a more touchy subject. He'd had them in the past, being a bit smaller and fragile in childhood it wasn't a hard thing for Yugi, but it still scared him. Zorc wrapped his hands around Yugi’s small ankle and began to tighten his grip. Yugi shuddered and held back the yell that wanted to escape him. Luckily, Mahado came into the room and Zorc’s grip only just loosened.

“Decide you'd like to help out?” Zorc asked.

Mahado’s face was stoney, looking at the small boy on the floor and the hands wrapped around Yugi’s ankles. Yugi felt tears welling in his eyes again. Multiple bullies were always worse than one. Zorc cocked his head when Mahado didn’t respond.

“Ah well, more fun for me then.” Zorc sneered before beginning to press in opposite directions against Yugi’s calf.

Yugi could feel the horror welling up just as intensely as the pain was rising in his ankle. He couldn’t help but begin to draw in breath. He wanted to scream out but the noise didn’t come. Just as he was sure his leg would break, there was a loud boom that sounded from the front room. Mahado and Zorc were up, guns drawn and facing the door before Yugi could realize what was going on. Yugi heard voices, he didn’t know if he should call out. Then he heard a voice yell out his name and his heart soared at once.

“I’m in here, Atemu!” Yugi called out, “Be careful they--”

Zorc’s arm swung back and the gun he was holding struck Yugi across the face, “Shut your face you worthless--”

Mahado was suddenly attacking Zorc. The gun Zorc held was knocked from Zorc’s grasp and Mahado threw a punch, just hitting Zorc as the darker skinned man attempting to register the betrayal. Zorc spit blood from his mouth at Mahado and threw a kick aimed for the center of Mahado’s chest which connected with it’s target with ease.

“You’ll regret this.” Zorc said.

Someone was pounding on the door. Zorc turned towards the window in the room and threw the weight of his body through it, shattering glass everywhere. As Zorc took off, the door finally gave way and a very pissed off Atemu held a gun out towards Mahado, eyes flickering briefly to check that Yugi was OK.

“Don’t--Atemu, Mahado he… he stopped Zorc.” Yugi tried to explain quickly.

Mahado’s hands were raised in surrender. Bakura busted into the room. Seeing the broken window and that the King had Mahado under control, Bakura decided to give chase to Zorc, leaping through the jagged edged window pane. Atemu’s aim didn’t move from Mahado who kept his hands in clear sight and unmoving. There was a pain in Atemu’s eyes underneath the fire that blazed in them.

“Mahado… This certainly isn't the way I wanted to greet you again, old friend.”

Mahado kept his face composed and kept silent. Yugi couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't making any attempt to defend himself, to get Atemu’s aim off of him.

“Mahado…?” Yugi’s voice caused both men to startle slightly as if they'd forgotten briefly that he was in the room with them.

Mahado's gaze locked on to Yugi and Yugi pouted, turning his attention to Atemu.

“Atemu, I'm safe. And it’s because Mahado stopped Zorc.”

The gun didn't waiver but Atemu’s gaze did soften as he looked at Yugi. The gaze steeled and returned to Mahado.

“Why?”

There wasn't any other thing to ask. Atemu wanted to know why for everything. Why did he think Atemu wanted to abandon him? Why did Mahado even consider Atemu as an enemy after everything they had gone through as kids? Why did Atemu feel like it really was his fault Mahado teamed up with a slime ball like Zorc?

“You know I don't have a great answer to that.” Mahado's voice was calm and he suddenly smirked as he stared at his old friend, “Stupidity is probably not the answer you want either.”

Atemu frowned slightly, then sighed, the gun dropped, but Atemu was still on guard. Bakura was going to need back up to chase down Zorc. Atemu pulled out his cell phone and sent a text to Seto. He looked back up at the man before him. Mahado had certainly grown up.

“I didn't want to leave you back then. I tried to get in touch. Nothing I say will make it right but I wish things had turned out differently.” Atemu slipped his phone into his pocket. “I wasn't truly the boss then. I was just a kid. I want to make it up to you but with you siding with Zorc against me… I don't know how much he's explained to you about how these businesses usually work, but betrayal is a hard shadow to shake off.”

Mahado had a sad look in his eyes. Of course he hadn't expected outright forgiveness, but thinking of the mistakes he'd made now toward his childhood friend was too much.

“I'd like to help. I don't expect your trust yet. Zorc made promises that he didn't intend to keep. I never wanted to trust him I just… was alone and...” Mahado made a fist, “and gullible.”

He looked over to Yugi, “I hope you'll forgive me. I didn't think Zorc would have been violent towards you. That was never part of the plan, at least not the plan he shared with me. It was only to get Atemu here. And saying that out loud now makes me feel sick.”

Yugi smiled gently, “Of course I’ll forgive you Mahado.”

Yugi’s kind warmth seemed to startle Mahado, and only made him feel worse about what the poor boy had been through. A kind soul like Yugi’s was truly rare. Mahado didn’t miss the look Atemu was giving the boy either.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Bakura’s feet slapped against the pavement with lightning quickness. He could still catch glimpses of Zorc’s dark hair whipping around corners as he pursued the man. Each alleyway that Bakura turned down was vastly different from the last. Wide then narrow, framed by walls short enough to see over and then by 3 story tall homes. Laundry lines occasionally blocked his view. He held his gun at his side, ready for Zorc to turn and face him like a man at any moment… but Zorc was a coward, and eventually, Bakura lost him. Running out into a crowded bazaar, he cursed under his breath. He looked in vain but didn’t see any trace of the man. His cell phone buzzed. Seto was on the other end.

“Forget it. I lost the bastard.”

“Humf… the King said to go back to Mahado’s house if we’re done. He was fairly confident that Zorc wouldn’t be going back there any time soon.”

“Maybe not Zorc, but I can imagine he’s calling in his goon squad. We need a new plan soon.”

“Agreed. Meet at Mahado’s.”

Bakura clicked the phone shut and with one last cuss under his breath he headed back towards the house. When he reached the house everyone had been moved to the living room and freed of their restraints. Pegasus sat on an overly large papasan chair with a glass of wine. Mai looked pisesd. Yugi seemed distraught. Seto looked like he was going to kill someone.

“Good, you’re here. Let’s go.”   
Bakura cocked his head, “Another field trip?”   
It didn’t take him long to notice a certain blonde mop was missing from the group of newly released hostages.

“Shit.”

Bakura and Seto headed towards the car outside the house.

“We know where he is?” Bakura asked.

“I-I do.” Ryou’s timid voice came from behind them.

Bakura turned to give his look-alike a skeptical appraisal, “Look kid, you should probably stay with the others.”

“Mai is needed here right now and I-I’m the only other one who was there.” Ryou stated in protest.

Bakura sighed in defeat.

“Let’s just go already.” Seto got into the driver’s seat and the two albinos had just barely shut their car doors when he sped off down the street.

It didn’t take too long to find the spot in the desert. There was a new vehicle at the scene. Bakura had his gun drawn, ready to fight off whatever looters had found profit in the situation. As they got closer it became evident that the supposed “looters” were, to everyone’s relief, the figures of Isis, Marik, Malik, and Rashid. There was a figure still laying on the desert sand, Isis crouched next to it. Seto brought the car screeching to a halt just feet away from Marik and was out of the car before the other two opened their doors. The brunette ran to the side of the blonde man laying in the Egyptian desert.

“You absolute idiot, you better open your damn eyes right now.” Seto growled loudly.

Jou’s eyes stayed closed but his face broke into a grin, “Don’t say that ya were worried about me or somethin’?”

“I’ll kill you.” Seto said with fists clenched, “I swear…”

“We’ve got to get him to the hospital now, Seto, but he will be OK.” Isis chimed in.

“Like I’d even care.” Seto turned away from the group.

Jou laughed heartily, “Yeah, yeah… same here ya big lug. Now let’s get goin’ before I bleed out in this freakin’ hot country.”


	20. Infiltrated

“I see…” Pegasus let out with a sigh, taking in the story Atemu had just told him, not truly believing it all.

Pegasus sat, legs crossed, wine glass in hand, on the rather large papasan chair in Mahado’s living room. His visible eye was closed in thought. Atemu sat across from him. He was relaxed, minus wine, his hands were gently closed, his arms were crossed, a fire still loomed in his eyes. As Mai, Yugi, and Rebecca kept themselves entertained by Mahado who was telling the stories behind the objects around the house, Atemu had explained to Pegasus, to an extent, that he and Zorc had made a “business deal” that went south. Honestly it was all Atemu could say without totally exposing  _ la famiglia _ … but he knew that Pegasus, while slightly gullible and maybe a little careless, was far from stupid.

“Obviously I will do my best to make sure you have extra protection until we have dealt with Zorc.” Atemu said calmly.

Pegasus let out a laugh and if his other eye had been visible Atemu was sure he would have seen Pegasus give a wink, “Oh, that won’t be necessary~! Now that I know what Zorc is capable of, I fully intend to pull the strings I’ve got here. Just let me know how I can help.”

Atemu seemed to consider his options for a moment before he spoke, “Well, it would be nice to have more eyes on the ground looking for him now that he’s run off.”

“Consider it done.”   
  


**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Zorc was panting heavily when he entered the Mosque. It was mostly empty inside. A man and woman sat at a bench along a wall talking softly, unbothered by his sudden entrance. Zorc composed himself, sure that he had shaken off his pursuers, and headed towards the front of the sanctum. There was a door along the wall labeled “office” in scrolling Arabic and Zorc entered without knocking. Heading into the simple room, a desk, a bookshelf, and a few chairs greeted him. He went to the bookshelf and took a moment to look it over. When he found the book he was seeking out, he gently pulled along the book’s spine. A panel of the wall clicked open next to the bookshelf. Zorc approached it and opened the small section in the wall. The area was only about a foot wide, a foot tall, and a foot deep. A cell phone laid inside, conveniently charging through an outlet that was in the cubby hole. Zorc sighed, picked it up and opening the old flip phone. He was moderately surprised when the thing still seemed to be functioning. Zorc began to dial one of the contacts. A cold voice answered in Arabic.

“This had better be worth bothering me, Zorc.”

“Doesn’t sound like you’ve missed me very much.” Zorc retorted.

“Let’s just say I’m less than impressed with how you’ve been handling this whole business with the Kings. I thought you’d be able to take them out without wasting my time.”

Zorc frowned, “Guess your idiot son and his friends are more persistent than I thought.”   
“Watch it.” the voice hissed.

Zorc smirked, feeling a little more in control hearing the other man react, “Sorry, Akhenaden… a little too close to home?”

“Don’t be so petulant. Our deal is officially off.”

Zorc’s frown returned, “What do you mean?”   
“You’re too messy. You barely disturbed their funds. You couldn’t even frame Atemu’s men properly. They were onto you within minutes. I was  _ glad _ to hear that waste of oxygen, Gelbeck, had died. You’ve not managed to do a single task I’ve set out for you to do. And from what I’ve heard  _ most _ recently, the one thing you did  _ right _ , has now been most unfortunately  _ fucked _ up. I’ve been told Mahado has gone right back to that pathetic excuse for a King...”

“Akhenaden--”

“Shut up. I don’t want any more of your excuses, Zorc. Meet me at the hadiqa **(1)** . The deal is off but I still have business to discuss.”

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Bakura stood outside the hospital taking a drag from his cigarette  **(2)** . He hated it here. The sun burned his skin despite his tan. Every minute he spent in this god-forsaken place made him bitter. He was acutely aware that every minute his skin darkened, his scar lightened. He thought briefly about the man who gave him the scar… his own father. Before the man had died he’d been an influential gangster. Bakura had thought about the scar often. It was a reminder. When he was younger, it was like a trophy. Once his dad died and his gang had fallen apart, Bakura was just another street orphan with a sob story, and nothing seemed to make it better. At least until he had had Atemu as a friend. And hopefully still Mahado… Bakura secretly was holding onto the hope that Mahado had woken up from whatever dumbass grudge his mind had made up against Atemu. His shorter look-alike stood nearby, clearly not impressed by the cigarette smoke as he occasionally waved the air out of his face. Bakura took one last drag of his cigarette and flicked the butt away. Ryou looked relieved when the smell of the smoke was gone out of the air.

“You doin’ alright kid?” Bakura asked.

Ryou looked slightly surprised by the question but offered a timid response, “Uh--I’m… I’m ok.”

Bakura found himself smirking at the pink blush that formed on the pale boy’s cheeks. He felt a little sorry knowing what the kid had gone through, the bomb threat, the recent seeing someone shot and left for dead... for Bakura, this sort of stuff was old hat. For this kid, it had to be at least moderately scarring. Bakura maintained his silence. If the kid said he was okay then Bakura would believe him. Ryou was kicking his heels along the ground slightly, eyes glued to the pavement. 

After just a few more minutes, Isis came through the hospital doors and towards the albinos. Marik, Malik, and Rashid followed close behind.

“How’s Jou?” Bakura asked.

“Recovering. They removed the bullet so he’s sleeping now. The pain medication was kicking in.” Isis explained.

“He’s such a lightweight.” Marik chuckled.

“Seto will be staying here with him.” Isis finished with a stern look at her brother.   
“I figured as much. What’s our next move?”

“We need to meet up with the Pharaoh. I keep seeing glimpses… and from what I can make out, whatever is about to happen is certainly not good.”

“When is it ever?” Bakura retorted.

The white haired look-alikes and three of the four Egyptians got into a car that Bakura and Seto had arrived in. Rashid was going to stay at the hospital with Jou and Seto. Seto wouldn’t leave Jou’s side but since they weren’t sure that the threat against Jou was truly dealt with it felt better to stay in groups at this point. Otogi had decided it was best he continue to monitor the streets to see if he saw anyone who might be able to give them a clue on Zorc’s whereabouts or incase Zorc came out from wherever he had gone to hide. Bakura drove them towards Mahado’s wordlessly. He had questions but knew that if Isis wasn’t offering any more information then she wasn’t going to say anything to him at this point. Marik and Malik looked out opposite windows being uncharacteristically quiet for the mischievous duo. The air in general was heavy, and Bakura didn’t like a single second of it.

By the time they arrived at Mahado’s house Pegasus had left. The remaining occupants were all sitting in the living area, formulating plans. Atemu looked relieved to see Isis with Bakura.

“How is he?” asked the Don.

“Jou is going to be as good as new by the end of the day.” Isis said reassuringly. 

“That's great news!” Yugi cheered from beside them.

Isis gave Yugi a gentle smile before turning her attention back to Atemu, “My Pharaoh, Zorc is losing allies but there is still someone with him that is pushing a shadow on my mind.”

Atemu nodded, listening intently. Mahado was standing wordlessly along the wall watching Isis. Mahado's eyes met Isis’ and she smiled.

“It is good to see your path has cleared.” She said to him.

Atemu looked over to gauge Mahado’s reaction to the comment. As he would when they were young, his face remained relatively stone-like but his eyes showed some shock. Atemu had tried to explain Isis to Mahado as he wouldn’t know her ability since she was someone who joined the Kings after Atemu had arrived in Japan. Clearly her words had some sort of effect on Mahado… it was probably the verbiage that Isis used. She tended to know what sayings or phrases would affect someone. Maybe it was about having a clear path. Atemu didn’t bother to dwell too deeply on it however, Isis had proven her ability to him time and time again so where others might dwell on doubt, Atemu acted in faith.

“Can you tell me anything?” Asked Atemu.

Isis nodded, “Only the places I see. I see a mosque. I don’t know that I saw any details that could help us locate the exact one. But Zorc was there. There was a voice of a man but I do not know it. There is someone else with Zorc. Someone else controlling the strings but I’m not familiar with this person. They’re meeting somewhere but I haven’t seen or heard it. It’s very odd. As I say, it’s as though there is a shadow.”

Atemu gently cradled his chin in his hand. It wasn’t unusual for Isis to not have a full picture, but he wasn’t sure what to think of the information she was able to give. Just a place and a voice that only she had heard, so only she would be able to recognize it if that person contacted them or was nearby. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine what the next step would be. He heard a clicking sound from beside him. He opened his eyes to see where the sound was coming from and shouldn’t have been surprised to see Rebecca clicking away. Before anyone could ask she had pressed a button and the sound of a man’s voice saying something played from out of the laptop she had been holding.

Isis’s eyes widened, “That sounds like the man I heard!”

Atemu who had briefly froze with a look of shock, stood up to cross the room and look at the software Rebecca had been using. He was surprised to see that it wasn’t some program at all, but a recording. He felt goosebumps prickle up under his skin.

“What is this Rebecca?” He asked slowly.

Rebecca had a smug grin, “This here is the benefit of having been caught by those goons. There was a day that this Keith guy was meeting with someone who seemed pretty important and I just happened to have my phone still at that point and was able to record a snip of his voice. Of course it didn’t do me a lick of good. I couldn’t make out much since he was talking to someone else in Arabic occasionally too and they were on the floor below me… and the phone was shoved in my pocket. This is already as loud and clear as I can make it.”

The voice repeated. Yugi felt pretty useless not catching any words and not knowing any Arabic. He watched Atemu carefully who was focused on the repeating words and if Yugi wasn’t mistaken, it almost looked like Atemu was shaking but… he couldn’t have been? Isis, Mahado, Bakura, and Peagsus were also listening intently being some of the few others in the room whose Arabic would have been good enough to pick up any potential clues. As unclear as the recording was, the ending was very clear and in a language Yugi could understand  **(3)** , ‘ _ Make sure he dies.’ _

When the recording stopped, Atemu slowly lifted his head to look at Isis, “I know this voice.”

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Zorc stood in the lush garden taking in what would be a very serene view had it not been for the nagging voice in the back of his head warning him that he had pissed off a very powerful man. Not that it was the first time he’d seen Akenhaden upset (to put it lightly), but this was the first time that he couldn’t exactly blame anyone else. The heat of the sun was maddening at this time of day. Zorc looked around the garden which had a small fountain in the middle of it. It was amazing, he thought, that the blistering light didn’t immediately evaporate the water in the little fountain. He wondered briefly if his corpse would roast in this sun if Akenhaden decided to just kill him instead of “talking business.” He heard movement from the gate and looked over to see two figured entering the garden. One, Akenhaden, cloaked despite the heat, tanned hands showing but the rest of him concealed. The other was Keith, also wearing a hood but his sleeveless hoodie and shorts gave away his tanned, but not nearly as tanned, skin. Zorc was surprised with as dumb as Keith was that he was still around but it just went to show what a man could do when he was power hungry. The two approached Zorc who didn’t make any sort of acknowledgement to them.

“Glad to see you’re at least on time.” Keith grunted.

“Shut up, Keith.” Zorc said glaring into the sunglasses that Keith was wearing, willing him to disappear.

“Enough.” Akenhaden commanded, “You’re already on thin ice, Zorc. I certainly didn’t keep you alive to have you and Keith bitch at each other. We need to end this. The Pyramid is nearly ready.”

Zorc glanced at a clock nearby, it was close to 4 in the afternoon, “Are you planning on doing it tonight?”

Akenhaden shook his head, “No. We’ll move tomorrow. I need time to get a message to the little King to make sure he shows up on time. We’ll get rid of him and be done with this entire charade. The Kings should be mine.”

Zorc noticed Akenhaden’s tanned fist tighten. Keith nodded enthusiastically. Zorc wanted to punch him right in his dumb face.

“Feh,” Zorc started to walk away, “So what do you need me for then.”

“You’re to be bait, dear Zorc.” Zorc didn’t have to look to see the twisted smile on Akenhaden’s face.

Zorc didn’t let emotion register to his face. This asshole Akenhaden thought he was a god among men and now wanted to use Zorc. His insides tightened. Zorc wanted to retrot and to fight against the man standing in front of him but thought better of it. The wheels in his head turning as he began to wonder how he could possibly get out of this one. Without taking more than a few seconds to hesitate, he decided to play along for now.

“Alright. Where do we start?”

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Jou was having a very nice dream, thank you very much, and he would have very much liked the beeping in the background of the pizza shop he was in to stop so he could better enjoy the quadruple meat deep dish he was devouring and the owner had just brought out a whole other pizza just for him! All he needed now was an ice cold--ah ha! It was right there in front of him. And  _ seriously _ whoever was making that beeping could really stop at any time please…

His eyes opened. Seto stood over him, a worried look on his face.

“H-hey Seto,” Jou managed a grin, his mouth felt dry though and suddenly he was acutely aware that his leg fucking  _ hurt.  _ He tried to sit up, that was a mistake.

“Don’t move, idiot. You managed to get yourself shot. You were muttering about food… even in your sleep your a fat-ass.” Seto sat down carefully next to Jou on the hospital bed.

“Hey!” Jou went to hit Seto, a playful grin on his face, but as he moved the pain made him flinch again. 

It wasn’t an awful amount of pain, but it was definitely unexpected.

Seto glared at him, “I told you. Don’t move. You lost a lot of blood. They took out the bullet but you’ll have stitches in for a week.”

His grin slipped a little from his face, “Did everyone else make it outta there?”

Seto nodded. Jou breathed a sigh of relief. The monitor next to Jou continued to beep. A nurse came in to change his IV bag to stop the beeping. She also brought in pain medication for Jou who wanted to refuse it when Seto had translated to him what it was but Seto forced it on him. Rashid, who had been in the hallway, stood in the door while the nurse was in the room. Seto asked about potentially discharging Jou and she explained the doctor would be rounding in the next hour but she’d be sure to let the doctor know that they’d like to be discharged. When she had left and Rashid was back on guard outside the door, Jou reached over to take Seto’s hand as he sat back down on the bed beside Jou.

“I was actually scared,” Jou laughed a little, “I know ya will just think it’s cheesy but all I could think of was losing you…”

Seto gripped Jou’s hand.

“Shut up.” He muttered and leaned down to kiss Jou gently.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Atemu had walked out of the room. His hands were shaking slightly. He curled them tight to try and stabilize them but it only seemed to make the tremor worse. That voice brought a chill to his bones. He wasn’t sure what he should do. Everyone was in danger. It wasn’t that this was anything new, being in danger or being a target, but the stakes felt higher now. He turned into a room down the hall, an office, where the others had been previously held captive. He didn’t notice Yugi in the doorway behind him.

“Are you ok?” Yugi asked quietly.

The question snapped Atemu out of his racing thoughts and he was glad that had managed not to jump in shock. The King turned towards Yugi and managed a small smile. Yugi could see behind the smile was sadness that reflected clearly in Atemu’s eyes.

“No, I’m afraid I’m not.” Atemu looked into Yugi’s innocent amethyst eyes and sighed.

Yugi hesitated. He wasn’t sure what the issue was. Maybe Bakura would be better suited. Maybe this wasn’t a good time for Yugi to be interrupting Atemu’s thoughts. 

“I’ll just go ge--” Yugi had started to turn leave the room but Atemu’s hands found Yugi’s and the taller man pulled the shorter towards him.

Yugi instantly felt his face flush. Atemu held Yugi in a tight embrace. Atemu rested his face in Yugi’s hair, feeling calmer as he breathed in the scent. Yugi’s hair still smelled faintly of the desert sand. Atemu cursed himself. It was his fault they were in danger. He’d been so blind…

Yugi allowed his arms to wrap around Atemu’s sides. Yugi’s heart started to speed up in his chest. He was sure he was as red as a tomato but didn’t want to pull away. He was afraid, not of Atemu, but of his own feelings for this man who had suddenly come into his life and consumed all his thoughts. Yugi shivered slightly as Atemu’s breath tickled his head, trailing down to his ear.

“I’m so sorry,” Atemu said softly.

Yugi wanted to ask ‘for what’ but didn’t want to sound dumb. Instead he asked, “What’s happening?”

Atemu pulled away gently, their eyes met. Atemu cupped Yugi’s cheek. Yugi was acutely aware of the strong fingers on his face, resisting the urge to nuzzle into them. Atemu noticed the cut that had been made earlier where Zorc had pressed his knife to Yugi’s throat. Atemu scowled and moved his hand to Yugi’s neck to examine it. The feeling of Atemu’s fingers on his sensitive neck made Yug shiver. Atemu couldn’t help but grin.

“You’re adorable,” He whispered and leaned down to kiss Yugi’s lips.

Yugi’s heart jumped from his stomach into his chest and it felt as though it would burst through his sternum and go leaping around the room at any minute. Atemu’s soft lips caressing his made him feel weak in the knees. When Atemu pulled away, Yugi couldn’t help but pout.

“That man, on the recording,” Atemu said softly as he rested his forehead against Yugi’s, “he’s my uncle.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Hadiqa is the arabic word for “garden” and I honestly don’t speak a lick of Arabic so I could very well be using this wrong. If someone knows, would you please tell me? There’s only so much Google can help with.  
> (2) Don’t smoke kids. It’s an expensive habit that’s not healthy. Also don’t liter. Actually just… just don’t be like Bakura, mmkay?  
> (3) And what language is that? Japanese? English? Every time I write a story where the characters are Japanese but I’m writing it in English I find myself conflicted on questions like this. Akenhaden would probably not speak Japanese.. So maybe it’s English? And Yugi can speak English because... Japanese school systems? Cool? Cool.


	21. To the Casino

Yugi blinked up at Atemu, “Your uncle?”

Atemu nodded. Their foreheads still pressed gently together. Yugi’s confused look made Atemu feel like laughing despite the seriousness of the situation.

“Yes. My father’s brother... Seto’s father.”   
Yugi pulled back in shock, “Oh yeah! I completely forgot! Jou told me but… you guys just don’t look anything alike I mean not that that’s a requirement but, OK shutting up now... so… you’re cousins?”

Atemu grinned at the display. Yugi could be quite eccentric when he wanted to be.

“Yes unfortunately,” Atemu teased.

“The feeling’s mutual.” Came a voice from the doorway.

Atemu looked over to see the brunette CEO standing in the doorway, Jou behind him, looking a little pale.

“Jou!” Yugi called happily he ran over and was going to give the blonde a hug but thought better of it. He still seemed pretty worn out and who knew what pain he was feeling. 

Jou saw Yugi hesitate, knowing Yugi was always thinking of others first. He gave a sheepish grin and pulled Yugi’s head under his arm for a noogie.

“They let you go?” Atemu asked amusedly watching Yugi struggle in the headlock.

“Well, ya know, they were takin’ a little longer than money bags here could handle, so he started writing down names and makin’ threats an’ well… we’re here now!” Jou grinned ruffling Yugi’s hair some more.

“I’m so glad you’re OK.” Yugi sighed as Jou let him go.

Atemu gave Seto a look, “I hope you didn’t rush him out.”

Seto rolled his eyes, “He’s a grown man. He can take care of himself. And I believe there have been worse situations back in the kitchen where Jou was getting stitches put in without pain medication.”

“I suppose so.” Atemu said.

Seto turned to Jou, “You and Yugi give us a minute.” It wasn’t a request.

Jou nodded waving his hand as if he were bating at a fly out of his face muttering something that sounded like ‘yeah yeah bossy brat’ and Yugi, with a last glance and a small smile at Atemu followed Jou out the door. When they had rounded the corner out of the room Seto began to speak.

“He’s back then? My pathetic excuse for a father?”

Atemu nodded, “Rebecca had a recording of a voice she heard while captured. Isis had heard the same voice in a vision. After listening to it, I’m sure it’s Akenhaden.”

Seto’s entire body seemed to go rigid.

“That’s what Mahado thought too. He had just said his name when we walked in.” Seto remarked.

Atemu sighed, “I’m sorry Seto. I didn’t think he’d ever come back.”

“He’s worthless. We’ll get rid of him. He thought he deserved more than he got and left the family so he could go sulk. We were just kids.” Seto squeezed his fists tight. “It makes sense now… how Zorc found out about Mahado…”

Atemu nodded. He hadn’t thought of it that way. Akenhaden had stopped making contact right after Atemu left for Japan. Mahado shortly after that. Atemu began to wonder if keeping Mahado from going to Japan with Atemu was part of Akenhaden’s plan all along. Did it all lead up to trying to get Mahado to betray him? Did Mahado know? Atemu doubted Mahado would have known much about Akenhaden given that he wasn’t truly a part of the Kings. Atemu’s father had never quite trusted Akenhaden enough to give him full inclusion into the Kings.

“Does he really think,” Seto started clearly thinking along the same path as Atemu’s thoughts, “that he can get us to betray you so easily? And that even if he manages to kill you, which we both know won’t happen, that we would follow him?” 

Atemu sighed, “I’m not sure what he thinks to be honest. When he disappeared after my father died, I only assumed he went off to start his own family. Or just to get out. I knew he was angry that everything was left to me but somehow I never thought he’d stoop to this level. We also have to be careful. Out of all the people who want to kill me, I would say he's got the best chance to actually do it.”

“Have you thought about what you want to do next?” Seto asked.

“Not yet. I… well, I needed a minute to be honest after hearing his voice after all this time. I mean, we didn’t know if he was even alive.”

“You need to focus.” Seto said coldly, “I wish he was dead.”

“He’s still family.” Atemu said calmly with a frown, knowing Seto was saying things out of caring even if it came across as being an asshole.

“Not to me. That piece of filth can rot. I’ll make sure he pays. For betraying me. Betraying us."

Mai showed up at the door, Bakura and Mahado behind her, “Hey Atemu, Mahado just got a call on his phone… you’ll want to hear this voicemail.”   
Atemu nodded, Mahado entered the room holding out his cell phone. Atemu took it and pressed the play button the whole room heard the message play out over the speaker:

‘ _ Your little friends may have saved you this time, Mahado you filthy traitor, but trust me. We’re coming for you. For all of you. If you think you can run from us you’re wrong. We’re going to start the operation. I hope you enjoyed your little reunion. Don’t worry though, you’ll all be together again soon in hell.’ _

The line went silent.

Mai broke the tension, “He’s pleasant isn’t he?”

“What does he mean by operation?” Atemu asked looking at Mahado.

Mahado frowned, “I’m afraid I don’t know all the details. There’s that compound, the one out in the desert that we had thought was abandoned? Kul Elna?”

Bakura and Atemu froze.

“I didn’t think anyone would stay there after…” Atemu trailed off, giving Bakura a sidelong glance, Bakura had been born there.

“No one did. It only recently repopulated. Lots of small time gang members hide out there now. But there are still families, women and children, all poor, who use the area for shelter. Zorc mentioned that he wanted to recruit people from there. After they had recruited enough people... I didn’t know what they had been planning really on doing with them. But I know they had been talking about something big near the Pyramids. But I don’t know how he thinks he could pull off a stunt there...”

Seto scoffed, “He didn’t mean the actually Pyramids.”

Everyone looked at Seto waiting for an explanation. 

Atemu spoke up, “The casino.”

“What?” Mai asked, “Are you serious? He’d attack there? We’re barely tied to that place anymore.”   
“Well we’re not at all tied to the great Pyramids so…” Seto retorted.

Mai shot Seto a glare, “Settle down sunshine.”

Seto glared back without turning to face her completely.

“Mahado. Out.” Bakura shooed the brunette out the door.

Seto, Mai, Bakura and Atemu stood in the room in silence for a minute.

Atemu frowned, "It makes sense... the casino is still a decent source of legal income. If he manages to attack it, not only will our profits hurt but it will put unwanted attention on one of our buildings and if it's set to be a terrorist attack then the government will get involved too. It wouldn't be as big of a deal in Japan but we don't have the same political ties in Egypt that we used to have." 

“What if Mahado is in on this?” Bakura asked giving Atemu a look, “I mean, he would have known your uncle.”   
“I had already been thinking about that, but how could he have? Akenhaden likely didn’t interact with Mahado except to keep him from going with me to Japan.”

“I don’t like it.” Seto chimed in, “I know he’s your  _ friend _ supposedly, but this whole thing seems odd.”

Atemu shot Seto a glare, “Look, I know you don’t believe in having friends, but I can tell Mahado is not going to betray us. Isis believes in him too.” 

“I don’t believe in her either.” Seto shot back.

“I’ll go Pharaoh.” Bakura interrupted, clearly done with Seto and Atemu’s bickering, “You should stay away from the Pyramids. If Akenhaden wants you dead then you need to stay away from that place.”

Atemu smiled, “I appreciate it, but you know I can’t just stay out of it. Besides, it will be nice to see the old man again…”

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Yugi was pouting. Not only did he pull out the Wounded Baby Panda (™) look that he hated to use but he had his arms crossed tightly across his chest and was sitting in an actual corner. He didn’t care how childish he seemed at that moment. He was pouting god damn it and he didn’t care if the whole of Egypt knew it. He wasn’t alone though, Rebecca was putting up a fierce protest as well.

“No way!” She said with a huff, “You just want us to sit here!? What do we do, just stare at the wall until this is over??”

Mai was also a little pissed to say the least, “I’m supposed to just babysit? This is the biggest threat we’ve faced in years and I’m on freaking BABYSITTING DUTY?”

Yes. Yugi was pouting. And Atemu was almost falling for it. Almost.

“It’s for your own good.” Atemu said gently to Yugi who was still sitting in the corner, “Yours as well Rebecca,” Atemu turned to Mai, “And Mai... you know I have to trust you on this.” He sighed and looked at the albino in the room, “Ryou doesn’t seem to mind.”

The albino sat cross legged on the couch, reading a book he had taken from Mahado’s shelves (with permission) and didn’t look up to respond. His philosophy was to stay out of this argument. Atemu sighed when he realized that Ryou was going to cooperate in staying behind but wasn’t going to help him convince the others. Atemu turned back to meet Mai’s violent violet stare.

“Look Atemu,” she said carefully, “I respect you immensely, you know this, but I’ll be damned if I’m just going to sit here while you all go off fighting. The kids--” Rebecca scoffed at this term “--will be absolutely fine without us here.”

Atemu crossed his arms, “No, they won’t. Zorc knows where Mahado lives. It’s not like this is a top secret location.”

“We could get Pegasus back here,” Mahado said, “Maybe he could even take them to a safer location in general?”

Mai smiled brightly at Mahado, “Hey yeah! That’s a great idea!”

Atemu gave Mahado a look like he’d been betrayed again, Mahado smiled back sheepishly. Bakura, hearing the commotion, walked in from the kitchen. Atemu while rolling his eyes towards the heavens sighed for at least the fifty thousandth time that day and ran a hand through his dark hair. 

“ _ I can’t believe this _ ,” He muttered in arabic.

“ _ Did you really think they’d just go along with this? _ ” Bakura almost snickered back.

“Don’t even start that.” Mai said angrily, “You know my arabic is rusty at best.”

“ _ It’s not that I didn’t think they would I just didn’t think that it’d be this damn complicated. _ ” Atemu explained in Arabic before saying in English, “Sorry Mai.”

“Can’t we just go along?” Rebecca pleaded again, “I mean, if were just hiding out, where better than to hide than in plain sight?”

Atemu furrowed his brows, “You know that makes no sense.”

She grinned, “It makes perfect sense!”

“None of this makes sense and you’re all wasting time here.” Seto interrupted from the other side of the room where he stood with his arms crossed. “If we don’t act soon then we’re all going to regret it.” 

“Fine.” Atemu said, “Mai, get a car here that won’t stand out. Take Yugi, Ryou, and Rebecca to the back entrance of the Pyramid but do not go in. I’ll need you there to watch out for Zorc and pals.”  **1**

Mai looked relieved, “Aye, aye,  _ mon capitaine _ !”

Mai hurried out of the room. Isis came in from the kitchen looking concerned.

“Pharaoh,” Isis started, “I just saw… well, this course of action may not be the wisest.”

Atemu nodded, “I know. Do you see anyone getting hurt?”

“Well, it’s hard to say.” Isis looked down, clearly frustrated in the haziness of the situation.

“Perhaps it’s best if we just leave this one to sheer luck.” Atemu placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile.

Isis still looked defeated, but smiled back, “Yes.”

Mahado looked between the two of them before he interrupted, “I’d like to help.”

Atemu looked at him. He could definitely be useful at least to help keep a lookout. However, the thought still lingered on if he could be trusted. He felt a pang of guilt hit his insides. His friend had been angry. Anyone would have been angry if they had thought they’d been left behind and forgotten. Atemu smiled, truly thankful to his old friend.

“I’d be honored to have you with us.” Atemu said finally.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Yugi was in absolute awe. The Pyramid was one of the most extravagant buildings he had ever seen. Not only was it an actual pyramid shape and probably the same size as one of the Great Pyramids, but it also was incredibly picturesque against the desert. The building itself was a glittering black. The surrounding area had been perfectly landscaped. There was a little moat like river running around the perimeter with palm trees, large granite boulders sat on the banks of the river and obsidian statues lined the entrance way. The statutes were of the ancient Egyptian gods and goddess. The entire car seemed to ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ as they passed by a life size statue of Anubis, Anput, Isis, and Osiris. They reached a gate where Atemu, Seto, Bakura, and Mahado who had been in a car in front of them, stopped, and after a short while, the cars were waved through. Behind their car was a car with Rashid, Isis, Marik and Malik. The last statutes by the entrance looked like solid gold, one of Ra and the other of Horus. Both were at least 8 foot tall. Clearly this wasn’t just any casino. Their car took a sharp left and Mai headed around the back of the building. The other two cars had taken a right. Yugi watched the other cars until they turned another corner around the side of the Pyramid and he could no longer see them. Looking around, he noticed a few more smaller statues on this side of the building. A large parking lot with “staff only” was to their left. Even the parking lot was landscaped nicely. The continued for just a short while before the road dipped underground. They reached another gate and Mai spoke with the guard, showing him something, before they were waved through. This guard, Yugi noticed, was armed and held a very intimidating gun that looked like it could rip through a tank if need be.  **2**

They passed through the gate and continued underground, making another right turn about 500 feet past the gate. Yugi guessed they might have been under the Pyramid. The tunnel let out into a decent sized parking lot. The area was well lit and there were two sets of elevators with a stair access as well. From the look of it, a keycard was needed to enter. There were several exotic imports in the lot, a Ferrari and Porsche sat next to each other near the elevators. A Maserati was right next to the end of the tunnel. There was an attendant box who looked confused as their plain sedan drove through past the luxury vehicles. Mai flashed him a dazzling smile but it only seemed to confuse the attendant more. They parked.

“Now what?” Asked Rebecca, clearly already bored.

“Now we wait.” Mai said, not sounding any more excited about it than Rebecca was.

Yugi had been looking out the window and saw another car entering the lot. This car was sleek and completely blacked out. His stomach did a funny drop. He didn’t have a good feeling about that car.

“Mai? Should we be a little more, ah, covered?” He asked sinking down in his seat.

“Well we’re in the VIP only parking garage but,” She turned and looked at the car Yugi was watching, “you’re probably right. Keep your heads down a second here.”

They all slouched down, staying as out of site as possible. Mai kept watching the car as it parked on the opposite side from them. Two men stepped out of the car. The one pulled a duffle bag from the trunk of the car and the two strode over to the attendant. The attendant and the men seemed to discuss something. Mai rolled down the hand cranked windows just a hair so she could better hear what was being said. It was all in arabic. The attendant seemed to be uncertain of something the men were suggesting but the man not carrying the bag reached into a wallet and handed the attendant what was clearly a wad of cash. The attendant took it and waved them through with a quick look at the lot. The two men entered the elevator and were out of sight. Mai pulled out her phone.

“God damn it.” She muttered, “We don’t get a cell signal down here.”

Yugi looked at her, “Do you think those two were up to something?”

“Call it a woman’s intuition... I just wanted to give the King a heads up. I know they’re going to get their eyes on the security cameras as soon as possible but, I’m not going to lie, even though this is the VIP parking it’s not exactly the best secured or at least that’s how Seto made it sound.”

She sighed, “He’s going to absolutely murder me… come on kids. We’re going in.”

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Atemu had put on a black suit for the event. He hadn’t been to the Pyramids in quite some time. Seto, Mahado, and Bakura trailed behind him just slightly. The group of the four young and rather good looking men walking in the doors certainly did attract attention. The group made their way through the bright casino past the full tables where dice were being rolled and people were laughing. There were women in glittering gowns and men in crisp suits. There were drinks being poured and music spilling through the air thanks to the live band on a large stage near the bar. It didn’t take long for Atemu to find the man he was looking for. Shimon was standing in the middle of a crowd of people telling the end of what was sure to be a very interesting archeological dig find. When their eyes met Shimon gave a large smile and apologized to the people around him while he pushed through them to make his way over to Atemu. Atemu grinned and waved.

“You’re looking good, old man.”

Shimon scoffed and threw his arms open to hug Atemu, “Ahh and you are looking more like your father every time I see you! I could have sworn I had just saw a ghost!”

Atemu coughed as Shimon squeezed his middle. The short, grey haired man had pulled back and was holding Atemu’s arms to get a good look at him.

“It’s been too long… looking at you does make me miss you old man.”

Atemu’s smile stayed on his face, but his eyes looked sad. Seto coughed slightly behind him.

“I don’t mean to break up this touching reunion, but we have limited time here.”

“Ah! Kaiba! Bakura… and by Ra… is that you, Mahado?”

“We’ll explain in the security room if that’s alright?” Atemu asked.

Shimon nodded and led the group through the casino to a room labeled “Authorized Personnel Only.” There was a keypad which had key card access as well and Shimon used a card that had been tucked into his suit jacket to get them through. Once on the other side, there were a few guards down the corridor and a few other rooms off to each side, all with key cards. They went down the hall a bit until they reached another clearly labeled door, “Security.” Shimon used the card and with a faint ‘click’ the door unlocked. Shimon swung open the door and the group went in. There were two guards sitting at the monitors in this room. Shimon spoke with them in quick Arabic and they left the room. 

“Now, what’s all this about?” Shimon asked.

As Atemu attempted to give a brief explanation of the current events with the Kings, Seto eyed the monitors. Pulling out his cell phone, he sent a quick text. When he got a response, he looked again at the monitors, finding the craps table, he spotted who he was looking for. Otoji sat there, surrounded by a group of ladies who were obviously trying to get his attention. Jou was seated a few places away and from the looks of it, not doing do hot on his gambling. Seto rolled his eyes. He hated that Jou was even out there but the blonde was very persistent and Atemu had agreed that it would be unfair if he was the only one left behind. Seto signed and sent another text. Another response. Looking at the monitors, he found Isis and the twins at a blackjack table, Rashid was standing slightly behind them, observing the casino more than the game being played. As Seto sent one last text to let them know their status in the security room, he noticed a blonde moving through the crowd.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” He grumbled.

Atemu looked over mid-story, “Everything alright, Kaiba?”

Seto resisted the urge to smack his face with his hand, instead using his hand to point to one monitor in particular coming from the VIP garage where four familiar figures were getting some very interesting looks thanks to their less than incognito dress, “No. Everything is not alright. These kids are going to get themselves fucking killed.”

Mai led Yugi, Ryou, and Rebecca through the tables to the same door Atemu had been heading towards but on the screens the group in the security room saw them intercepted by a few men in suits.

"Ra… we have to get down there." Atemu said before starting to head towards the door but Seto stopped him.

"We might but you don't. Stay here." Seto nodded at Bakura who nodded back and left the room. Atemu turned his attention back to the monitors, his arms crossed, and Seto didn't miss the way his fists were clenched so hard they were trembling.

Yugi was staring around the casino in awe. As he took in the sights and sounds he noticed that all of the people in the casino didn't appear to be Egyptians. In fact he heard one couple speaking Japanese and another in a language that wounded German. He was about to ask Mai about it when three men surrounded them. One of them asked Mai something in Arabic. She laughed and said something back. He didn't look very amused and judging by the once over he had given their group, he didn't believe whatever she had said either. The man said something back to her and she dropped her nice persona to give him a glare. Peeking around the man, she suddenly smiled and said something again in Arabic. A pale hand tapped the man's shoulder. Bakura stood behind them, he gave a wicked smile before opening his jacket just enough so the man could see the gun tucked away. Again there was a quick exchange of words Yugi didn't understand, but the suited man seemed apologetic and let them pass. Bakura sighed as they left.

"For being one of the heads of this family Mai you sure are being dumb bringing this group in here."

"Look I know but I think I saw them come in through the VIP garage just like we did."

Bakura glanced around and told them to follow him, sending a quick text to Seto.

"They're going to the private rooms." Seto said as he received Bakura's text, “Mai said there were two suspicious men who entered from the VIP garage right before they did.”   
Seto leaned over the computer system to check the footage. Sure enough, the men who Mai had seen had entered the casino just about 50 seconds before Mai led the others through. Seto tried to follow their path through the casino via cameras but the two men had stopped at one of the cashiers who, after a brief conversation, had led them through an “Employees Only” door.

“Where does this door go?” Seto asked turning to Shimon.

Shimon looked over, “Well, it depends, there’s access to the kitchen through there, also an elevator for employees to the roof.”

Atemu’s eyes hardened, “They’ll be on the roof.”

“Are you sure?” Shimon asked.

Seto didn’t miss the change in Atemu’s demeanor. There was always a time when things got rough that he noticed this change. Seto didn’t need to ask him if he was sure, he knew.

“Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 HAAAA! Ha.. hahah? ... Anybody? Get it? See what I did there?   
> 2 And what kind of gun is this? I sure as hell don’t know anything about guns and Yugi’s as clueless as I am here so it seems authentic. Right?
> 
> Ok and just to cover my ass here: I don’t own any casino or the rights to the Luxor casino which this chapter is loosely based on. There are no actual casinos in Egypt like the one I described (that I know of). Also, fun fact, only people who are visiting Egypt can gamble in casinos but not Egyptian citizens (hence all the foreigners). Egyptian citizens can only play the lottery (or something, I had to Google it). Also, don’t own YGO or YGOTAS unfortunately.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably my second most favorite chapter to write but also one of the most difficult. I'm not very good at writing action scenes but I hope you like it!

Yugi thought that the atmosphere of the Pyramid couldn’t get more luxurious but had been so very wrong. They entered into a dim lit room with velvety sofas and golden tables. There were fewer people here by far but all of them reeked of money. There was a private bar and several private tables playing various games. On the far end of the room it was a bit brighter. Yugi saw large floor to ceiling windows at that end with what looked like doors out onto a small balcony. Bakura spoke with one of the staff and they were led through to a room which could only be deemed a closet by the fact that it had clothes in it. Yugi had guessed it was easily the size of six of his bedrooms at home.

“Well isn’t this convenient.” Rebecca chortled as she looked around the massive closet.

“You need to blend in.” Bakura explained. “You have five minutes. Just pick something out that doesn’t scream poor.”

Mai didn’t need direction and grabbed Rebecca’s hand to take her to the other side of the room, the girls disappeared behind a privacy screen. Yugi felt incredibly overwhelmed. He glanced at Ryou who was obviously feeling the same way. Bakura audibly sighed behind them and grumbled something before walking over to a row of suits. He grabbed two black suits and thrust them at Yugi and Ryou.

“Put these on.”

Yugi and Ryou made their way over to the privacy screens available near the wall. Yugi almost jumped when an attendant came in a few minutes after him as he was finishing up tucking in his shirt. The attendant smiled and held out a few accessories.

“Sir, Mr. Bakura has requested you also wear these.”  **1** The attendant explained in English.

“Oh, thank you.” Yugi said clumsily as he accepted the violet tie.

The attendant stood expectantly and as Yugi realized he wasn’t going to leave, he began to put on the tie. The attendant folded a matching pocket square and tucked it neatly into the jacket Yugi had laying across a chair. The attendant picked up the jacket, and when Yugi had finished with the tie (not without some difficulty) the attendant offered the jacket to Yugi in a way that showed Yugi was meant to practically have this person put on his jacket for him. He felt even more uncomfortable. People didn’t do things like put on his clothes for him. As Yugi slipped his arms through the jacket that he was sure cost more than anything he had ever worn before in his entire life he wondered briefly if this was all pointless. The attendant brushed off the shoulders of the jacket once it was one and looked down at Yugi’s off-white socks with a slight frown.   
“Here you are sir.” He said handing Yugi a pair of crisp black socks.

“Thanks,” Yugi blushed now, taking his old socks off and putting on the new ones.

“Your shoe size?”

“Uh, eight…” Yugi said suddenly very unsure if he was going to have to pay for all these new clothes.

The attendant nodded and walked out from behind the screen with Yugi. He returned in just a few minutes with a pair of black leather shoes. Yugi sat in the chair and slipped on the shoes which were alarmingly comfortable for looking like they would cost too much to actually be functional. He bit back a laugh. Here he was, in Egypt, being given a suit and shoes that were worth more than his own life, and about to track down an enemy of the biggest mob in Japan. Because he’d be damned if he was just going to sit around while everyone else did the dangerous stuff. He hardly felt like just a normal guy anymore. Briefly he wondered if this whole thing would even end in their favor. Once the shoes were on, he exited the small changing area with the attendant and saw Bakura helping Ryou with his own pocket square. Yugi didn’t miss that Bakura had managed to pick out colors that exactly complimented not only Yugi but also for Ryou. He supposed that even someone as gruff as Bakura would learn a few things running around with the upper class of the mob. Ryou had a curious blush across his face as his look-alike straightened his suit jacket and looked him over. Yugi grinned and approached them. Mai and Rebecca joined them shortly. Mai had a floor length black dress on which shimmered with a purple undertone. The slit of the dress conveniently ended just at her mid thigh, concealing the gun she had strapped there. Rebecca had on light pink dress with a jewel neckline which ended just below her knees, a baby blue jeweled pin had been put into her hair. 

“That’s much better!” Mai said eyeing everyone over appreciatively. “Now, let’s lay low.”

“How do I look, Yugi?” Rebecca asked with a smile.

Yugi, clueless as always, replied, “You look great!”

Bakura checked his phone, “They’re heading to the roof. I’m going up there. Are you alright babysitting a little longer?”

Mai waved her hand, “Yeah, yeah. Don’t get shot.” 

Yugi knew Mai was only half teasing. Bakura nodded and headed out of the room. Yugi desperately wanted to follow him. He didn’t know what kind of situation Atemu had gotten into or what their plans were. Mai shooed them all out of the room and back towards the private tables. She stopped to briefly speak with someone and after a few minutes came over to them each with a tray of chips to gamble with.   
“Alright, don’t tell Atemu about this but, here.” She handed them out, “I have a feeling he’d kill me knowing I’m letting you play but, well what else are we going to do!”

Her grin didn’t fool anyone, “You want to play don’t you.” Yugi said flatly.

“Aw come on! Don’t say it like that.” She waved her hand dismissively and headed towards the bar, “We deserve to have a little fun.”

Yugi watched her go to the bar and turned back to Ryou and Rebecca, “Well, I’m not interested. Are you guys?”

They shook their heads. The trio sighed. Yugi looked back over to where Mai was sitting at the bar clearly having turned on the charm and was chatting with one of the other patrons. He suddenly got an idea.

“Well, why don’t we just go then?”

Ryou froze, “Yugi. You can’t be serious. I don’t want to gamble but that doesn’t mean I want to go out there and get picked up as bait for some mob boss.”

Rebecca laughed, “I mean, I’d usually be right there with you Yugi, but this is a little more dangerous than just some bullies, these guys will kill you.”

Yugi pouted, “Alright, alright. Well then, I’m going to go out on the balcony. At least get some fresh air.”

He waved at the other two and went down towards where he had spotted the large windows earlier. There was a door out onto a smaller balcony which had glass sides to it as to not obstruct the view. Yugi saw a smaller pyramid which looked like an extension of this one in the distance and could get a good view of the gardens around the Pyramid which led out to the smaller extension. He wondered what was out there. Rooms? Staff area? Pool? There was already an outdoor pool that he could see weaved into the greenery below. If it wasn’t for the current situation he could understand why this place was so incredibly popular. It was definitely beautiful out here. He tried to look up the side of the building. He noticed a few other balconies near the top. He wasn’t quite sure how this place could really have a roof but there was no mistaking that Bakura had said they were going to one. Giving up, he decided to turn back and just enjoy the view and try to not worry about all his friends. After all, even if he did go back and try to find a way up there, it’s not like he’d be able to get past any security. He couldn’t even speak Arabic if someone had questioned him.

“Enjoying the view?” Came a voice from his left in Japanese.

Yugi jumped and a hand went to his heart as if to keep it in his chest. He turned to look at the newcomer.

“Uh… yeah! Sorry, you scared me. You, speak Japanese?” He asked.

Yugi took the pause to inspect the man closer. He had long white hair, almost reminding Yugi of Pegasus, but this man was clearly older. He was tanned and had the same air as the other people who had been back in the room. A slightly dangerous aura seemed to be around this guy. Yugi felt uneasy.

“Yes, I used to do business in Japan.” The man smiled but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Ah, small world.” Yugi said with a grin, “Well, I should get back inside. My friends are probably wondering where I--”

“Your friends won’t miss you.” The man interrupted. “I know there’s someone else who would much rather see you right now.” 

Yugi bit his cheek and glared. He knew this guy was trouble.

“What do you mean?” 

“I think the little Pharaoh would love to see you, don’t you think, Yugi?”

“Who are you?”

“My, my. What bad manners. I’m Akenhaden.”

Yugi took a step back, “What’s your plan? You really think that no one is going to notice if I call out or run?”

“Do that, and your friends are dead.” He said simply. “I did not come here alone.”

Yugi tried to look back through the glass but it was mirrored and he only found himself looking at his own pale reflection. He tried to think of another way out, but it was useless.

“Why don’t you just be a good boy and come with me.” Akenhaden didn’t bother to hide the malice in his voice.

Yugi didn’t want his friends to get hurt, but he knew going with Akenhaden would put Atemu in danger. Maybe he could escape while they were walking. Maybe he could warn the others somehow…

“Fine.” Yugi replied.

“Good.” Akenhaden grabbed Yugi’s arm and pulled him through the door back into the casino.

When they walked into the private rooms, Yugi desperately looked around but didn’t see Ryou or Rebecca, he saw Mai still at the bar but she didn’t turn around, she wouldn’t have known to look for him and if he made any noise he was sure that Akenhaden would kill them. He noticed the other people in the room. Who knew if they were spies for him or not? As they headed towards the closest fire exit door, Yugi quickly pulled the pocket square from his jacket and while Akenhaden was opening the door, he threw it behind them.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

Atemu, Seto, and Mahado entered the elevator, standing to each side, guns drawn. They had decided to take the elevator as there hadn’t been anything suspicious right outside the elevator to get to the roof access. Luckily, there had been a few of the wireless earpieces for security communications in the security room. Seto took one and Atemu took another. Shimon had been using them to give updates but hadn’t reported anything new on the camera that focused on the roof. Mahado had explained to the others that it may have been best for him to go out first. If anything, it might give them more time to find out where the others were on the roof, even if he was shot in the process. Atemu frowned.

“I won’t let that happen my friend. We’ll be cautious. Bakura is on his way. We should have plenty of cover up here.”

Mahado nodded, still not looking very sure. Seto was calm and composed. This was just another day out of the office for him. Atemu wondered if he should have Mai come up here as well. He knew the others were in the casino on standby. In the event that they were killed up here, at least the others could catch Zorc and Akenhaden leaving but Atemu truly hoped it wouldn’t come to that. As the elevator dinged to signal they had reached their floor, Seto ended up taking point. The elevator doors opened and he carefully slipped his head and gun around the edge of the door to see around. Atemu was holding down the open doors button. Once Seto gave the all clear, the three slipped through the opening. Again, with Seto on point, they examined the room. There were doors leading to the outside. The area itself wasn’t very big as they were so close to the top of the Pyramid. The elevator appeared to be at the center of the room. No one else was up here. There was a bar but no bartender. Atemu cocked his head for Seto to check it out. Seto nodded and went around to check. Sure enough, two people lay dead behind the bar. Seto looked back at Atemu and made a slash with his finger against his throat to indicate his findings. Atemu grit his teeth. Nodding towards the doors to the exit, Seto began to move towards them. A door to their left clicked and all of them pointed their guns in that direction. Bakura came through, hands up, gun drawn. They relaxed. Atemu went over. Quickly and quietly he explained that they knew they were here. Bakura nodded. The four moved towards the doors. It was a pair of doors so Mahado took one, Seto took the other. Bakura stood in the middle, insistent that Atemu stay back. Atemu felt his heart beat slow. It was almost like a trance. Seto and Mahado nodded at each other and simultaneously opened the doors. Atemu saw two figures standing there, waiting and unarmed.

“Hello Pharaoh.” Zorc said coldly.

Atemu’s gun targeted Zorc’s forehead.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Zorc warned. “Unless you don’t care what happens to your little  _ friends _ .” 

A blonde haired man stood next to Zorc, it wasn’t Akenhaden.

“Where is Akenhaden?” Seto asked before Atemu had the chance.

“Aww, missing dear daddy?” Asked the blonde man.

Seto’s aim found this new comer, “Watch it, asshole. Who the fuck are you?”

The blonde man smiled, “Temper, temper.”

“Where is he and why shouldn’t we kill you right now?” Atemu asked again.

“Well, by now he’s hopefully snagged your little boy toy and should be joining us any second. But if he doesn’t get the signal from us, he’ll kill him on the spot and vanish before you can find him again.” 

“You’re lying.” Atemu said, “Yugi is safe. He was safe five minutes ago.”

“A lot can happen in five minutes my dear Pharaoh.” Zorc said coldly.

Keith’s phone began to go off at that moment, “Let’s not be hasty now,” he said as he reached to pull the phone from his jacket pocket.

“Akenhaden. They’re here.” Keith said into the phone and responded back to the voice they couldn't hear, “understood.” Then back to them, “Now, if you want Yugi to live. I’ll take your guns.”

Seto scoffed, “You’ve got to be joking.”

“Does it look like I’m fucking joking pretty boy?” Keith asked. “I’ll just let Akenhaden know you’re choosing not to cooperate with us and he’ll be done with it.”

“Do as he says.” Atemu said calmly.

Seto snarled, “This is bullshit,” But did as Atemu instructed.

Bakura took Atemu’s gun, Mahado, Bakura, and Seto handed the guns to Keith.

“Good choice.” Keith said mockingly. Then back into the phone he said, “They’ve cooperated.”

“Line up, along the balcony.” Zorc instructed.

Keith hung up the phone. As the four moved to stand by the balcony, they heard the doors open. Sure enough, large amethyst eyes came through the door. Followed by Akenhaden holding a gun to his head.

“Ah, so good of you to come,  _ King _ .” Akenhaden said in a bitter tone.

“Akenhaden…” Seto growled.

“Seto, it’s good to see you, son.”

“Fuck you.” Seto responded, “You’re no father to me.”

“Tsk, tsk.” Akenhaden scolded, “After all I’ve done to get you here. And you don’t even know, Seto. This is really all for you.”

“Oh really. Threatening my boss. Making us run around chasing after you. Shooting my… well, just how do you think this is for my benefit in any way?” Seto asked crossing his arms, clearly unimpressed, and not wanting to call Jou a boyfriend in front of this group of people.

“Well, obviously the Kings should be yours, not this pathetic excuse for a leader. Look at where he’s gotten you, all of you. You’re all in danger and it’s completely his fault.”

“Because of you, dumb fucker.” Bakura quipped.

Akenhaden turned his attention on Bakura, “Ah, the street brat. Another example of the low standards this so called King has set for you all.”   
“What do you want, Akenhaden?” Atemu asked eyes flickering to Yugi. 

“I want everything you have.” Akenhaden said as if he were asking for the salt at the dinner table.

“Then take it.” Atemu responded. “Take the Kings. That is, if anyone would follow you.”

“You ungrateful wretch… It should be  _ mine _ . Your father was pathetic, just like you.” Akenhaden tightening his grip on Yugi and pressed the gun harder against his skull.

Yugi shut his eyes, trying not to react but try as he might, he felt his entire body trembling. He desperately wanted to do something to get out of this situation, but what could he do? There were more of the Kings than of them, but it wasn’t like Yugi would be any help, it was his fault they had been forced to hand over their weapons in the first place. 

“What makes you think any of this should be yours?” Atemu asked. “My father made a point to keep you out of all the day to day business. He knew you were greedy and selfish. Your lust for power would have been the King’s downfall.”

“It should be MINE.” Akenhaden growled, “You’re weak. The Three Kings could rule Japan with an iron fist. You allow these other families to walk all over you. Your stupidity has lost them millions of dollars. You could do so much more but you’re too afraid. I’ll take it from you and make you watch as every last pathetic person to ever give you loyalty dies.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that.” Came a voice from behind him.

Everything that happened next happened so fast.

Yugi was pushed out of the way, there were gunshots, one of which was so close by his ear that he couldn’t hear anything for several seconds. Bodies went flying… or running, Yugi couldn’t tell. Someone fell to the floor. Yugi felt arms around him, pulling him away from the scene. There was yelling. More gun shots. And then, an overwhelming silence. Yugi couldn’t tell where he was for a moment. As he came to grips with what was happening, he realized someone was holding him, whispering in his ear that it was OK. Yugi slowly started to look behind him. Atemu cupped Yugi’s face so he could only look at Atemu.

“Don’t look.”

Yugi nodded. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 OK we’re going with “Mr. Bakura” here because honestly I don’t know what last name to give Bakura and I couldn’t find back in my fic if I had given him one in this so… yeah, that’s MR. Bakura to you...


	23. Forever

Yugi flopped down on his bed. It felt so good to be home. The events at the casino felt like eons ago, even though it was just a few days before. Atemu had left Egypt first with Seto and Mai before getting to say a proper goodbye. Mahado had decided to stay in Egypt. His life was there now. Atemu had made sure that Mahado was given an important job working at the Pyramids to make up for all the trouble. Mahado had tried to refuse, but Atemu insisted. Isis, Marik, Malik, and Rashid had also decided to stay in Egypt for a time. Jou, Bakura, Ryou, and Rebecca took the King’s private plane home to Japan with Yugi. Bakura gave Yugi a debriefing on the plane ride over which included telling Yugi that Atemu had told his Grandpa that Yugi had been selected for an Italian Immersion experience, whatever that was supposed to mean. When Yugi arrived, Grandpa had asked how his trip was and Yugi had a hard time remembering the things that Bakura had instructed him to  _ say _ had happened. The overly muscled bodyguard that had been left with Yugi’s grandpa looked awfully out of place in a Game Shop apron. When Grandpa asked if Yugi had taken any pictures Yugi looked away from the bodyguard and back to Grandpa before letting out a quick ‘ _ Oh, my uh, camera broke.’ _ and asking to be excused.

Laying on his own bed felt heavenly. He hadn’t heard from anyone from the Kings since landing, but he assumed they would contact him soon. That week, Yugi went back to school but felt more out of place than ever. He had tried texting Jou but didn’t get anything back.

A week came and went with nothing but radio silence from all the members of the Three Kings. When Yugi saw him at school, he asked Ryou if anyone had contacted him, but Ryou hadn’t heard from anyone either. Yugi found himself searching recent news articles to see if the name of the crime family was in the papers but there was nothing. Even though the time that he had spent with them had been short, Yugi found himself missing his new friends. Worst of all, his dreams were haunted by Atemu. To have just been left behind with no word of when he'd see any of them again was torture. Senior year was bland for him. Anzu had asked him what had happened to him after the party, after all he had essentially disappeared from school after that, but he stuck as much as he could to the Italian Immersion story as he could manage. Seeing her again was an odd sensation for Yugi. Any crush he had previously had on Anzu had evaporated. Yugi knew exactly why. 

When the second Friday without hearing from the Kings came around, Yugi started to feel desperate. Telling Grandpa he was meeting some friends after school, he had decided to make his way to the restaurant instead. It didn’t take him long to find the Italian Restaurant where he had first been taken (kidnapped, really) by the Kings. Technically, he was still employed there. He gazed at the outside of the building. It felt like a lifetime ago. The sign hanging in one of the windows was flipped to read “closed.” The windows all had curtains over them making it impossible to see inside. He thought about knocking. After all, someone might have still been inside. He worked up the courage and rapped on the door, but no one came. Yugi made a face at the door and resisted the urge to kick it. Feeling as though a weight was on his chest, he decided to give up and head home. After all, where else could he go to find any of them? He certainly wouldn't be able to walk up to Kaiba Corp and say ' _ Hey, I know your CEO is with the mafia and I'm trying to get in touch with them so could you pretty please let me in to talk to Seto Kaiba? _ ' As Yugi made his way back towards the Game Shop, he wondered if that time in the hotel that Atemu had kissed him had all been a cruel joke. Maybe they all really thought he was just a kid. He felt a heat burning his eyes but he refused to allow the threatening tears to form. He was so consumed in his thoughts and memories from a few weeks ago that he didn't see the sleek black car that had slowed down alongside him, driving at a pace that matched his walking speed. A window on the car rolled down but Yugi didn't seem to notice it.

"You should probably pay closer attention to your surroundings." Came a smooth voice.

Yugi froze. As he turned to look at the owner of the voice, amethyst eyes met crimson. Atemu had a smug grin on his face. At that moment, one million thoughts went racing through Yugi’s head. Atemu’s grin turned into a frown, furrowing his eyebrows, observing Yugi. Briefly, Atemu worried that Yugi may have had a stroke when Yugi just stood there, his expression was unreadable. 

Atemu waved a hand, "Earth to Yugi?"

Atemu opened the car door.

“Are you alright, Yugi?” Atemu asked, his slender legs swinging out from the car to approach Yugi.

Yugi moved so fast, Atemu felt himself preparing to be attacked as Yugi’s body slammed into his, knocking him back a step. As Yugi’s arms wrapped around his middle in an embrace. Atemu sighed and relaxed. Atemu gently laid his arms around the slightly shorter boy, relishing in the feeling for a moment before Yugi pulled away with a clearly upset look on his face.

“Where have you been? Why haven’t you called? What’s been going on?”

“Woah, woah,” Atemu grinned, “One at a time. And, if you’d like to come with me, I can explain more about what I’ve been up to on the way?”

Yugi nodded. Atemu took Yugi’s hand, it felt so natural, but still also made a heat rise in Yugi’s face. Atemu helped Yugi into the leather back seats of the car that had been chauffeuring Atemu.

“We’re set, Franz, please take us to Kaiba Corp.” Atemu said through the opening separating the front of the car from the back before shutting the privacy glass.

The car began to roll away and Yugi wondered why they were going to Kaiba Corp. He was trying to think of anything besides Atemu holding his hand but it was becoming increasingly difficult. Atemu used the fingers of his free hand to trace Yugi’s palm and down each finger. Yugi chanced looking into Atemu’s eyes and felt his gut tighten as he met burning crimson irises. He felt like butterflies were set loose in his chest. 

“I missed you.” Atemu said lifting his hand to cup Yugi’s cheek, “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to stick around but we had to get out of Egypt fairly quickly. Seto, Mai, and I were all at risk after the... fiasco at the Pyramid, mainly from any of the mobs in Egypt. Besides our safety, I wanted to get to Japan to begin making some changes right away.”

“Changes?” Yugi felt his cheek burning where Atemu’s hand rested, mostly distracted by the feeling of Atemu’s fingers lightly brushing his skin.

Atemu smiled, “Yes. I want the Kings to be a clean operation.”

“What does that mean exactly?” Yugi asked, brows furrowing.

“It means the end of la famiglia.” Atemu explained, “We would just be, normal employees. Kaiba Corp is big enough for us to make a profit without having to run any of our old businesses with the Japanese mafia. Obviously it’s been top in the gaming industry the past few years. So we’ve agreed to disband the Kings.”

Yugi felt as though he was completely in the dark, “But, couldn’t you have done this a long time ago?”

Atemu paused and licked his lips, “Well, yes, maybe a few years ago we could have. We've stayed in the business mainly to keep on top. After all, mob families come and go. Whoever is on top gets to call the shots on some bigger issues. We did try to keep the business to the… lesser crimes, you could say. I never tolerated drugs or involving children. When we noticed a family becoming too greedy or too brutal we would step in. To be on top meant to set standards for the other families."

“Then, why now?” Asked Yugi.

Atemu squeezed Yugi’s hand giving him a playful smirk and a quick wink, “Care to wager a guess?”

Yugi blushed again, breaking the smoldering eye contact by looking down and becoming overly fascinated in his jacket buttons. He heard Atemu’s throaty chuckle. The car turned a corner and Yugi knew they must be near Kaiba Corp. Looking out the window he found himself greeted by the “KC” logo and saw their car approaching a security booth and gate. The driver didn’t have to speak with the security guard before being waved through,the gate already opening for them to pass through. As the car wound its way through the green spaces and mirrored buildings of the Kaiba Corp campus, Yugi wondered why Atemu had decided to bring Yugi here to talk about anything. As the car came to a stop, the driver exited and opened the door for Atemu and Yugi. They stepped out of the car and walked over to a very large building which appeared to be the main building of the campus. Even though it was a Friday evening, there were some people still walking around the area. Yugi didn’t miss the looks that Atemu got from more than a few of the women they passed. Yugi wondered if Atemu noticed too, but if the taller man had, he didn’t acknowledge it. Instead, Atemu took ahold of Yugi’s hand. Yugi looked over to see Atemu smiling lightly, eyes straight ahead and determined. 

Atemu led Yugi through a main lobby, and using a keycard at a large elevator with the words ‘private access’ written across it. Once the lift had arrived and they stepped inside, Yugi was surprised to find it had only one button. Atemu used his keycard again and pressed the single button. The doors shut and they began to move upward. Yugi wondered how far they could possibly be going up with only one option. It was just a few moments before the elevator halted and exited into a large space with a single receptionist’s desk. No one was at the desk. Atemu pulled Yugi gently past the desk and approached a large frosted glass door. Using his keycard on this door, he looked back at Yugi before opening it.

“Ready?” He asked.

Yugi was completely lost now, “For what?”

Atemu just grinned and opened the door. The other side of the door led into a large office with dark woods and glimmering gold details. There were Egyptian statues and trinkets lining built in bookshelves. But what really caught Yugi’s eye was not what, but who was waiting in the office.

“Hey! Yug’! It’s good ta’ see ya!” Jou took four large steps and crushed Yugi in a hug.

Yugi laughed, hugging back, “Jou!”

Mai smiled at him, “It’s been awhile kid.”

Bakura and Seto were also in the room. Bakura nodded from his space looking out the window and Seto gave a ‘hn’ in acknowledgement from his seat next to the desk. Jou produced a bottle of champagne and glasses.

"Wha-what’s all this for?" Yugi asked as Jou handed him a glass.

"It's for new beginnings." Atemu said softly, taking a glass as well.

"It's going to be a bummer giving up some of this life," Mai said with a wink, "but it's for the best."

"Wait, but, what's going to happen to everyone? I mean, what will you do, given your--uh, background?" Yugi asked, setting his untouched glass on a nearby table.

"Seto had already taken care of hiring a few lawyers to work out some deals for us. We're basically going to help with law enforcement to avoid any charges." Atemu explained.

"Like a plea bargain?"

"Essentially." Atemu confirmed.

Yugi felt uneasy. He was obviously happy that Atemu wouldn't be leading a crime family but still wasn't sure what this meant in terms of Atemu or the others. He avoided asking any other questions on that wave length until the others had left. When they were alone, Atemu explained that this had been his office at KC. Obviously he wouldn't be needing it to run la famiglia any longer, but he would use it for his assistance to the feds and there was still the restaurant that he wanted to keep running. Mai would remain the manager and Jou head cook. Yugi listened as Atemu explained how he would make sure in the plea bargain that any ties to the mafia were forgiven for the members of la famiglia who were under him.

"But, what about you? They're just letting you walk, just like that?" Yugi couldn't help but feel like it was too good to be true.

Atemu gave a sad smile, "Not entirely."

Yugi didn't expect it to be sugar coated, but the bluntness of the response made his stomach drop.

"So, what happens next?"

"I'll be under a sort of house arrest for 3 years. Everything that I do will need express permission from the government. That includes travel, work, free time. They'll essentially want my obedience to them to show that I am truly committed to a positive change and my full cooperation and knowledge of Japan’s mafias." Atemu didn't miss the flash of concern in Yugi's eyes. "Trust me, Yugi, this is what I want."

"Will you have to be in jail?”

Atemu took Yugi's hands in his. Gently, he brought them up to his lips and kissed Yugi's knuckles. Yugi felt himself flush at the feeling of Atemu's soft lips.

"House arrest will be enough of a jail for me. The other members of the mafia in jail would know me and I’d probably get killed. The government is aware of that and will do their best to keep me protected in exchange for cooperation. Besides Yugi, I’m not really losing much. I'd like to think that I'm gaining quite a bit from this." Atemu murmured. "I'd give up the King's and more to keep you safe, Yugi. You've changed me. I feel like I've been given a new purpose since meeting you. And, this will sound cheesy, but I have this urge to stand by you, if you'd let me,  _ aibou _ ?"

Yugi was sure his face was the color of a tomato, but he smiled. Truly happy to hear how Atemu felt. The idea of having him stay made Yugi incredibly happy.

"Yes," he said softly, "Please stay."

Atemu smiled and leaned in to capture Yugi's lips with his.

**VIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVIVI**

**Three Years Later…**

Yugi was in panic mode. He could have sworn he'd saved the draft of his newest game design on his computer but he couldn't find the files. Maybe it was still on his work PC? He frantically searched and didn't notice the door to the apartment open. He let out a little yelp when two hands covered his eyes, but as the scent of his darker half filled his nostrils he calmed instantly.

"Guess who?" A silky voice asked very close to Yugi's ear.

"Atemu! You're home early?"

Yugi felt the hands slip from his eyes, and set in front of him was a package.

"What's this?" Yugi asked playing with the ring on his finger, something he hadn't gotten used to in the six months they'd been wearing them.

"An early congratulations gift for finishing your big project." Atemu said hoisting himself to sit on the desk before coaxing, "Open it."

"The game's not going to get done if I can't find the project file to send out tonight." Yugi said in despair as he resumed searching his computer.

Atemu looked over at the screen, "Hm… what's this icon on your desktop?"

Yugi's eyes went wide, "You've got to be kidding me. How could I have missed that?"

Atemu laughed and placed a gentle kiss on Yugi’s forehead, "It's because you've been working yourself too hard,  _ hikari _ ."

Yugi grinned up at him, "Says the guy who just helped catch one of the biggest criminals in Domino's entire history."

Atemu mockingly waved a hand, "All in a day's work, citizen. Besides I've had some downtime. You haven't. Now open it, please?"

Yugi looked down at the package. Opening the wrappings slowly, he was surprised to see a magnificent golden box inside. He carefully picked up the box, it was heavy. He admired the details around it. He noticed a large Egyptian looking eye in the front center of the box. Each side had hieroglyphics that he couldn't read. Opening the lid gingerly, the inside had different shaped pieces, each also made of what appeared to be solid gold.

"A puzzle?" Yugi asked, not at all sounding disappointed, Atemu knew Yugi loved puzzles.

"Ah, not just any puzzle. I had Isis ship it over to me after she told me about it. Apparently no one on her team at the Egyptian museum can solve it. They say it will grant the person who solves it a wish."

Yugi smiled at Atemu, "I have all I could ever wish for right here."

Atemu leaned over to kiss Yugi's lips gently.

“Same, aibou."

And it was true. The restaurant was doing well, Atemu had an amazing and adorable husband, his work was rewarding. There was a lot to be thankful for. Yugi smiled and pulled in Atemu for another kiss. This one, slightly more passionate. Atemu responded, his hands finding their way into Yugi's hair. No amount of time seemed to quench his desire to be with Yugi. Atemu wanted to pick Yugi up, switch places and bend him over the desk right there, but he had one more thing before that. Atemu broke the kiss and smiled at Yugi's pout, wanting to continue kissing those swollen lips.

“That’s not the only surprise I have today.” Atemu said resting his forehead on Yugi’s.

“Oh?”

Atemu pulled a few papers from his jacket pocket, “They’re letting me go. The time is up as per the agreement. No more house arrest.”

Yugi looked shocked, “Wow, I… I honestly forgot. They’ve been pretty lenient on you.”

Atemu smirked, “Well, as you say, I did help them in the biggest bust of a lifetime. I think that made a good impression.”

Yugi laughed. Atemu stood up and pulled Yugi against him. Yugi instantly recognized a lust in Atemu’s eyes that made his knees go a little weak. He didn't miss Atemu's eyes flicker down to Yugi's lips.

“The best part about this,” Atemu said as he gently ran his hands up and down Yugi’s side, “Is that I can finally take you on a proper honeymoon.”

“Where were you thinking?” Yugi asked, licking his lips.

“Where do you want to go?” Atemu asked, his hand resting dangerously above Yugi’s backside.

“Hmmm… Egypt?” Yugi teased.

Atemu laughed, “I suppose we could go back. Maybe make some better memories than the last time.”

Yugi grinned, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I had a  _ great  _ time.”

Atemu kissed Yugi’s nose, “How about a beach? Or mountains? A cozy secluded cabin where I can have my way with you?”

Yugi laughed and leaned in to capture Atemu’s lips. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end at Atemu’s hungry response. Their hips pressed together. Yugi purred.

“Anywhere is fine, as long as I’m with you.”

“And you will be,” Atemu took Yugi’s hand to admire the ring there that matched the one on Atemu’s hand, “forever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!! Please let me know if you liked it, hated it, loved it, thought it was boring, dumb. Whatever. I appreciate feedback!

**Author's Note:**

> 1 Should I keep Jou talking like this? I think it's appropriate since it's a gangster-themed fanfiction to have him with his American dub Brooklyn accent... but it can get kind of annoying to type xD  
> 2 I love using Yugi's grandpa as that awkward perverted old character... it's out of love... honestly...  
> 3 Ojii-san = Grandpa (Japanese)  
> 4 Kaji = Fire (Japanese) I thought this was interesting because it's actually more of the word for an "out-of-control" fire... c: I thought it was fitting with Atemu's crimson eyes -swoon-  
> 5 xD... "yous guys" ... hahah I love it x3  
> 6 I didn't want to have to make Anzu a b*tch... it just happened T_T sorry, needed something to get Yugi flustered and walking around late at night xD  
> 7 This took me the longest to write... to decide and make the under-boss Mai was something I really wasn't sure how readers would take it. But thinking about it, she's kind of got that "ruler" attitude that I think could make her a pretty darn good gangster.  
> 8 again, for any terms that you don't quite get, please just google search Sicilian mafia and look at the graph on the wikipedia page ;) I'm trying to keep my research pretty factual, but I'm not making any promises  
> ^ Sorry for all the notes! I promise the later chapters won't have so many ;)


End file.
